ImmunityBio Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:IBRX)

ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 25,953 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 46% compared to the average daily volume of 17,825 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Barry J. Simon sold 151,967 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owned 3,091,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,259,548.80. The trade was a 4.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Christobel Selecky sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total value of $250,000.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 226,967 shares of company stock worth $1,531,912 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 69.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ImmunityBio

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of IBRX. Slow Capital Inc. bought a new stake in ImmunityBio in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Truist Financial Corp acquired a new stake in ImmunityBio in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in ImmunityBio in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC bought a new position in ImmunityBio in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of ImmunityBio during the second quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors own 8.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBRX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of ImmunityBio from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. D. Boral Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price objective on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on ImmunityBio from $6.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of ImmunityBio in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of ImmunityBio from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.80.

ImmunityBio Stock Down 1.9%

IBRX stock traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $6.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 15,597,660 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,245,883. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $3.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.91. ImmunityBio has a 52 week low of $1.83 and a 52 week high of $8.28. The stock has a market cap of $6.40 billion, a PE ratio of -15.83 and a beta of 0.16.

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.