ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 41,762,827 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 6% from the previous session’s volume of 39,393,707 shares.The stock last traded at $7.7660 and had previously closed at $9.40.

Key Headlines Impacting ImmunityBio

Here are the key news stories impacting ImmunityBio this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NCCN guideline update formally added ANKTIVA for papillary-only NMIBC, a clinical-practice recognition that supports commercial adoption and reimbursement conversations. NCCN update
• Positive Sentiment: ANKTIVA’s recent approvals/expansion in Asia (Macau/Asian markets) have been cited as a growth catalyst and helped push shares higher ahead of today’s drop by opening additional commercial markets. Asian expansion
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst firm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and a $23 price target, signaling bullish institutional views on upside tied to label expansion and commercialization. Analyst reaffirmation
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and write-ups note that ANKTIVA label expansion is necessary for the next growth phase but caution that competition, premium valuation, and execution risk still leave upside uncertain. Valuation and competition discussion
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. FDA issued a warning letter saying a TV ad and podcast promoting ANKTIVA made false or misleading claims and violated federal law — a regulatory compliance issue that triggered a sharp sell-off and raises risk of further regulatory action or civil enforcement. FDA warning letter
• Negative Sentiment: Johnson Fistel announced an investigation into potential securities claims involving ImmunityBio executives, increasing legal and reputational risk that could pressure the stock and lead to potential litigation costs or settlements. Shareholder investigation

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of ImmunityBio from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. D. Boral Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of ImmunityBio in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $12.00 price objective (up from $7.00) on shares of ImmunityBio in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of ImmunityBio in a report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ImmunityBio has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.40.

ImmunityBio Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $7.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.83 and a beta of -0.04. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.10.

ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $38.29 million during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that ImmunityBio, Inc. will post -0.92 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ImmunityBio news, Director Barry J. Simon sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.01, for a total transaction of $900,750.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,850,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,238,360.21. The trade was a 2.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Christobel Selecky sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 501,967 shares of company stock valued at $4,466,412. 69.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of ImmunityBio by 193.4% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 44,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 29,297 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in ImmunityBio by 21.4% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 80,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 14,105 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in ImmunityBio by 1,104.4% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 13,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 12,668 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in ImmunityBio by 34.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,777,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its position in ImmunityBio by 48.0% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 53,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 17,443 shares in the last quarter. 8.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.