ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) Shares Up 1.2% – Time to Buy?

ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX) rose 1.2% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $6.87 and last traded at $6.62. Approximately 13,364,308 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 42,219,293 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.54.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IBRX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of ImmunityBio from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of ImmunityBio in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on ImmunityBio from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. D. Boral Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price objective on shares of ImmunityBio in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of ImmunityBio from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.80.

ImmunityBio Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $6.52 billion, a PE ratio of -16.15 and a beta of 0.16. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $3.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Barry J. Simon sold 151,967 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.20, for a total transaction of $1,094,162.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,091,604 shares in the company, valued at $22,259,548.80. This represents a 4.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Christobel Selecky sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 226,967 shares of company stock worth $1,531,912. 69.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of ImmunityBio

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of ImmunityBio by 33.0% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 164,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 40,785 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in ImmunityBio during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in ImmunityBio by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 75,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,000 after buying an additional 3,280 shares during the last quarter. Daybright Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in ImmunityBio in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in ImmunityBio by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,231,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,439,000 after acquiring an additional 215,571 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.58% of the company’s stock.

About ImmunityBio

ImmunityBio, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company specializing in the development of novel immunotherapies for cancer and infectious diseases. The company’s research platform centers on harnessing the power of the human immune system—through engineered T cells, natural killer (NK) cells, cytokine superagonists and viral-vectored vaccines—to target and eliminate diseased cells across a range of indications.

Among its lead assets is Anktiva (formerly known as N-803), an interleukin-15 superagonist designed to stimulate NK and T cell activity.