ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) Shares Up 6.2% – What’s Next?

ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX)’s share price shot up 6.2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $8.30 and last traded at $8.1990. 2,525,009 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 21,301,471 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.72.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBRX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 price target on shares of ImmunityBio in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of ImmunityBio in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of ImmunityBio in a report on Friday, July 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.20.

ImmunityBio Trading Up 5.7%

The firm has a market cap of $8.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.43 and a beta of 0.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $7.82 and its 200-day moving average is $7.89.

ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) last released 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 business had revenue of $51.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.70 million. Analysts forecast that ImmunityBio, Inc. will post -0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at ImmunityBio

In other news, Director Cheryl Cohen sold 131,210 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.50, for a total value of $1,246,495.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 125,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,191,167. This represents a 51.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Christobel Selecky sold 159,478 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.02, for a total value of $1,438,491.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 35,064 shares in the company, valued at $316,277.28. This represents a 81.98% 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 412,410 shares of company stock valued at $3,753,442. 66.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ImmunityBio

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its holdings in shares of ImmunityBio by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 19,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its holdings in shares of ImmunityBio by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 17,814 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,689 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of ImmunityBio by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 29,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 1,918 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of ImmunityBio by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 28,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 2,271 shares during the period. Finally, Archer Investment Corp boosted its holdings in ImmunityBio by 67.1% during the 1st quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 5,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 2,358 shares during the period. 8.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About ImmunityBio

ImmunityBio, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing immunotherapies and other treatments designed to activate the immune system against cancer and infectious diseases. The company’s platform combines biologics, cell therapies, vaccines and other approaches intended to generate durable immune responses.

Its lead product, ANKTIVA (nogapendekin alfa inbakicept-pmln), is an interleukin-15 receptor agonist designed to stimulate natural killer cells and T cells.