ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) Shares Down 6.4% – Here’s Why

ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX) shares were down 6.4% on Monday. The stock traded as low as $8.72 and last traded at $8.5880. Approximately 3,109,134 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 20,521,498 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.18.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of ImmunityBio in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of ImmunityBio from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of ImmunityBio in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of ImmunityBio in a research report on Wednesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.00.

ImmunityBio Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $8.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.90 and a beta of 0.02.

ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $51.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.70 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that ImmunityBio, Inc. will post -0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Cheryl Cohen sold 81,056 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.50, for a total transaction of $851,088.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 100,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,053,244.50. This trade represents a 44.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Barry Simon sold 25,000 shares of ImmunityBio stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.75, for a total transaction of $268,750.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,777,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,861,221. This represents a 0.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 66.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ImmunityBio

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ImmunityBio by 29.4% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 34,083,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,399,000 after buying an additional 7,736,819 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of ImmunityBio by 20.8% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,398,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,343,000 after buying an additional 3,690,335 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of ImmunityBio during the second quarter valued at $19,125,000. SEB Asset Management AB bought a new stake in shares of ImmunityBio in the first quarter valued at about $18,770,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of ImmunityBio by 923.5% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,648,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,644,000 after acquiring an additional 1,487,482 shares in the last quarter. 8.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ImmunityBio Company Profile

ImmunityBio, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing immunotherapies designed to activate and strengthen the body’s immune response against cancer and infectious diseases. The company’s approach combines immune-system modulators, cellular therapies, vaccines and other technologies intended to address multiple stages of the disease-treatment process.

Its lead product, Anktiva (nogapendekin alfa inbakicept-pmln, also known as N-803), is an interleukin-15 receptor agonist designed to stimulate natural killer cells and T cells.