ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) Trading Up 14.5% – Still a Buy?

Shares of ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX) traded up 14.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $7.03 and last traded at $6.93. 23,578,862 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 44,895,594 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.05.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBRX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on ImmunityBio from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. D. Boral Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of ImmunityBio in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of ImmunityBio from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of ImmunityBio from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.80.

ImmunityBio Stock Up 14.5%

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a PE ratio of -16.90 and a beta of 0.14. The business’s fifty day moving average is $3.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Christobel Selecky sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.51, for a total value of $187,750.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Barry J. Simon sold 151,967 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director directly owned 3,091,604 shares in the company, valued at $22,259,548.80. The trade was a 4.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 226,967 shares of company stock worth $1,531,912 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 69.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ImmunityBio

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