ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $2.82, but opened at $2.99. ImmunityBio shares last traded at $2.9730, with a volume of 12,266,023 shares changing hands.

Key Headlines Impacting ImmunityBio

Here are the key news stories impacting ImmunityBio this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Saudi Food & Drug Authority granted accelerated approval for ANKTIVA® in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors to treat adult patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after progression on standard therapy — this is a meaningful regulatory win that expands ANKTIVA’s commercial label in the Middle East. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The SFDA also approved ANKTIVA® plus BCG for BCG-unresponsive non‑muscle invasive bladder cancer with carcinoma in situ — another label expansion that adds patient populations and bolsters the drug’s commercial opportunity in the region. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Company-released/covered data show ANKTIVA acts as a lymphocyte‑stimulating agent when combined with checkpoint inhibitors in NSCLC — clinical efficacy and mechanism data can materially improve commercial adoption and investor sentiment. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Media and retail attention picked up after the ANKTIVA update; coverage highlights renewed investor interest and likely contributed to heavy call buying observed in the options market (notable increase in call volume vs. typical). Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst at D. Boral Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $24 price target, a bullish note that may amplify investor optimism and upward momentum. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data appear inconsistent (entries show increases but list zero shares), suggesting possible reporting anomalies; current published metrics don’t present a clear short-squeeze signal. (Company filings/market data should be checked for confirmation.)

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IBRX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on ImmunityBio from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. D. Boral Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of ImmunityBio in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of ImmunityBio in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ImmunityBio presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.50.

ImmunityBio Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of -7.11 and a beta of 0.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $2.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2.41.

ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $32.06 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.88 million. Equities research analysts expect that ImmunityBio, Inc. will post -0.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ImmunityBio

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Slow Capital Inc. bought a new position in ImmunityBio during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Truist Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of ImmunityBio during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of ImmunityBio during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of ImmunityBio in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Financial Enhancement Group LLC bought a new position in shares of ImmunityBio in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors own 8.58% of the company’s stock.

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.