ImmunityBio Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:IBRX)

ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors purchased 25,953 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 46% compared to the typical daily volume of 17,825 call options.

Insider Activity 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Barry J. Simon sold 151,967 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.20, for a total transaction of $1,094,162.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,091,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,259,548.80. This represents a 4.69% decrease in their position. 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 in the last three months. 69.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ImmunityBio

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IBRX. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ImmunityBio by 45.1% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 89,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,000 after acquiring an additional 27,938 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in ImmunityBio by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 168,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 18,776 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in ImmunityBio by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 607,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 154,872 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of ImmunityBio by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,501,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,953,000 after buying an additional 202,206 shares during the period. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey grew its stake in shares of ImmunityBio by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 79,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,000 after buying an additional 13,313 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on IBRX. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on ImmunityBio from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. BTIG Research increased their price target on ImmunityBio from $6.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. D. Boral Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their price objective on ImmunityBio from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. 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

Shares of ImmunityBio stock opened at $5.95 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.51 and a beta of 0.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $3.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.94. ImmunityBio has a one year low of $1.83 and a one year high of $8.28.

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.