ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Shares of ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $5.95, but opened at $6.26. ImmunityBio shares last traded at $6.0450, with a volume of 5,182,368 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on IBRX shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of ImmunityBio in a research report on Monday, December 29th. HC Wainwright boosted 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. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of ImmunityBio from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of ImmunityBio from $6.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on ImmunityBio from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Five 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.80.

ImmunityBio Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $5.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.60 and a beta of 0.14. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.96.

Insider Transactions at ImmunityBio

In other news, Director Christobel Selecky sold 25,000 shares of ImmunityBio stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.51, for a total transaction of $187,750.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Barry J. Simon sold 151,967 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.20, for a total value of $1,094,162.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,091,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,259,548.80. This trade represents a 4.69% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 226,967 shares of company stock worth $1,531,912 over the last three months. 69.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ImmunityBio

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Slow Capital Inc. purchased a new position in ImmunityBio during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Envision Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in ImmunityBio in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Summit X LLC purchased a new stake in ImmunityBio during the second quarter worth $28,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in ImmunityBio during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of ImmunityBio in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.58% of the company’s stock.

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.