Lyell Immunopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYEL) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Lyell Immunopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYEL) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,138,296 shares, an increase of 21.1% from the March 15th total of 940,269 shares. Currently, 6.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 89,076 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 12.8 days.

Lyell Immunopharma Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of LYEL opened at $24.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $560.15 million, a PE ratio of -1.47 and a beta of -0.06. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.07. Lyell Immunopharma has a 12-month low of $7.65 and a 12-month high of $45.00.

Lyell Immunopharma (NASDAQ:LYEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported ($7.68) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.15) by ($5.53). The business had revenue of $0.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.02 million. Lyell Immunopharma had a negative return on equity of 90.52% and a negative net margin of 762,355.56%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lyell Immunopharma will post -0.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Lyell Immunopharma

In other news, insider Gary K. Lee sold 1,671 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.39, for a total value of $39,084.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 16,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,179.82. This represents a 8.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Lynn Seely sold 7,455 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.39, for a total transaction of $174,372.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 74,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,737,081.74. The trade was a 9.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 11,310 shares of company stock valued at $264,285 over the last 90 days. 22.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lyell Immunopharma

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Invesco Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Lyell Immunopharma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,036,000. MWG Caph Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Lyell Immunopharma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,030,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Lyell Immunopharma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $262,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Lyell Immunopharma by 1,239.5% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 15,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $491,000 after acquiring an additional 14,775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Lyell Immunopharma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,257,000. 66.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lyell Immunopharma from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on shares of Lyell Immunopharma in a report on Monday, March 9th. They issued a “market outperform” rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Lyell Immunopharma in a report on Friday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $44.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research cut shares of Lyell Immunopharma from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lyell Immunopharma in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.00.

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.