Lyell Immunopharma (NASDAQ:LYEL) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Lyell Immunopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYEL) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $22.46, but opened at $23.40. Lyell Immunopharma shares last traded at $24.31, with a volume of 41,086 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LYEL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright upgraded shares of Lyell Immunopharma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $20.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lyell Immunopharma in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Citizens Jmp began coverage on Lyell Immunopharma in a report on Monday. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $34.00 target price on the stock. Two 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.50.

Lyell Immunopharma Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $552.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.13 and a beta of -0.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $24.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Gary K. Lee sold 1,671 shares of Lyell Immunopharma stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.39, for a total transaction of $39,084.69. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,179.82. This trade represents a 8.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Stephen J. Hill sold 1,236 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.39, for a total transaction of $28,910.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 17,795 shares in the company, valued at $416,225.05. This trade represents a 6.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 11,310 shares of company stock worth $264,285 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 22.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lyell Immunopharma

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lyell Immunopharma by 773.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 174,279 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 154,327 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Lyell Immunopharma by 204.2% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 660,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $354,000 after acquiring an additional 443,614 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in Lyell Immunopharma during the 2nd quarter worth $258,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Lyell Immunopharma during the 2nd quarter valued at $94,000. Finally, RBF Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lyell Immunopharma during the 2nd quarter valued at $884,000. 66.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lyell Immunopharma

Lyell Immunopharma is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing next-generation T cell therapies for cancer. Leveraging a proprietary platform that combines cell therapy, gene editing and molecular discovery, Lyell seeks to overcome key barriers in the treatment of solid tumors. The company’s approach centers on engineering T cells to enhance their persistence, functionality and resistance to the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment.

The company’s pipeline includes multiple autologous T cell programs engineered to target tumor-associated antigens in solid malignancies such as melanoma, ovarian and pancreatic cancers.