ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) Stock Price Up 6.7% on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX) shot up 6.7% during trading on Monday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $10.98 and last traded at $10.44. 40,582,315 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 11% from the average session volume of 45,466,496 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.78.

The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $38.29 million during the quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on IBRX. D. Boral Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of ImmunityBio in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on ImmunityBio from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of ImmunityBio in a report on Monday, February 23rd. BTIG Research increased their price objective on ImmunityBio from $6.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on ImmunityBio from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ImmunityBio has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $12.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at ImmunityBio

In related news, Director Barry J. Simon sold 165,000 shares of ImmunityBio stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.25, for a total transaction of $1,691,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,925,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,989,665.25. This trade represents a 5.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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. Insiders have sold 501,967 shares of company stock valued at $4,466,412 in the last three months. Insiders own 69.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBRX. Slow Capital Inc. bought a new stake in ImmunityBio in the third quarter worth $25,000. Truist Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of ImmunityBio during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of ImmunityBio in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC bought a new position in ImmunityBio in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in ImmunityBio during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Institutional investors own 8.58% of the company’s stock.

ImmunityBio Trading Up 6.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $10.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.47 and a beta of -0.04. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.39.

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.