ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $8.54, but opened at $8.05. ImmunityBio shares last traded at $7.6360, with a volume of 14,730,259 shares changing hands.

ImmunityBio News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting ImmunityBio this week:

• Positive Sentiment: European conditional approval and EU commercialization push — the European Commission granted conditional marketing authorization for ANKTIVA® in combination with BCG for BCG?unresponsive NMIBC CIS, and ImmunityBio is opening an Irish subsidiary and signing distribution deals (Accord) to support the EU launch, which meaningfully expands addressable market and revenue runway. ImmunityBio Expands Access to ANKTIVA® in EU (BusinessWire)
• Positive Sentiment: Regional commercial expansion — ImmunityBio struck a partnership with Biopharma and Cigalah Healthcare to launch ANKTIVA® in Saudi Arabia and the broader MENA region, giving the drug local distribution partners and accelerating market entry in a sizeable oncology market. ImmunityBio Partners to Launch ANKTIVA in Saudi Arabia (BusinessWire)
• Positive Sentiment: Technical momentum — the stock is showing strong technicals (reported “golden cross” and trading well above the 200?day average), reinforcing momentum traders and institutional interest. ImmunityBio Holds Golden Cross (Benzinga)
• Neutral Sentiment: Chairman commentary and publicity — public comments linking diplomatic efforts to commercial success have generated headlines and may sustain retail interest, but they are narrative-driven rather than new financial data. Chairman Comments on Diplomacy (MSN)
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate finance/clinical updates referenced in coverage — some articles note follow?up clinical programs and past convertible?note activity; these are worth monitoring for dilution or R&D progress but contain no immediate financial details. Clinical/Convertible Note Context (MSN)
• Negative Sentiment: Investor litigation investigation — Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation into ImmunityBio on behalf of investors, which introduces legal and reputational risk that could pressure the stock if it leads to claims or disclosures. Pomerantz Investigates (PR Newswire)

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

ImmunityBio Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $4.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.11. The company has a market capitalization of $8.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.22 and a beta of 0.16.

Insider Activity at ImmunityBio

In related news, Director Barry J. Simon sold 151,967 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 3,091,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,259,548.80. The trade was a 4.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Christobel Selecky sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.51, for a total value of $187,750.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 226,967 shares of company stock worth $1,531,912 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 69.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ImmunityBio

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of IBRX. Armistice Capital LLC bought a new position in ImmunityBio in the 2nd quarter valued at about $20,497,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of ImmunityBio in the second quarter valued at approximately $7,854,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of ImmunityBio by 34.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,777,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487,849 shares during the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its stake in shares of ImmunityBio by 347.7% during the third quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 1,324,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,028,921 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in ImmunityBio during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $70,000. 8.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ImmunityBio Company Profile

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.