Investors Buy Large Volume of ImmunityBio Call Options (NASDAQ:IBRX)

ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Investors bought 26,656 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 44% compared to the average volume of 18,485 call options.

ImmunityBio Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IBRX traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $9.50. 10,962,955 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,563,473. The stock has a market cap of $10.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.82 and a beta of 0.02. ImmunityBio has a fifty-two week low of $1.95 and a fifty-two week high of $12.43. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.96.

ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $51.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.70 million. Equities research analysts predict that ImmunityBio will post -0.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ImmunityBio news, Director Cheryl Cohen sold 81,056 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.50, for a total value of $851,088.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 100,309 shares in the company, valued at $1,053,244.50. This represents a 44.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Barry J. Simon sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.75, for a total value of $268,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,777,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,861,221. This trade represents a 0.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 66.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ImmunityBio

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in IBRX. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in ImmunityBio by 29.4% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 34,083,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $298,399,000 after purchasing an additional 7,736,819 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of ImmunityBio by 20.8% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,398,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,343,000 after buying an additional 3,690,335 shares during the period. SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new stake in shares of ImmunityBio in the first quarter valued at $18,770,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of ImmunityBio in the second quarter valued at $19,125,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of ImmunityBio by 923.5% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,648,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,644,000 after buying an additional 1,487,482 shares in the last quarter. 8.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on IBRX. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of ImmunityBio from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Wednesday. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of ImmunityBio in a report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.00.

Key Stories Impacting ImmunityBio

Here are the key news stories impacting ImmunityBio this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA expanded ANKTIVA’s label, in combination with BCG, to include patients with BCG-unresponsive non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer with papillary-only tumors in addition to carcinoma in situ (CIS) disease. The broader indication materially increases the addressable patient population and commercial opportunity. FDA expands ANKTIVA approval
• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright reaffirmed a Buy rating and maintained a $15 price target, while raising its FY2027 earnings estimate to $0.10 per share from $0.07. Jefferies also lifted its price target to $14, signaling increased confidence in ImmunityBio’s longer-term earnings potential. Jefferies raises price target
• Neutral Sentiment: The expanded approval arrived ahead of expectations and triggered strong trading interest, but investors are awaiting evidence that the larger label will translate into sustained prescriptions, revenue growth and improved cash-flow performance.
• Negative Sentiment: Retail investors remain cautious despite the FDA decision, with attention turning to the founder’s upcoming trial-related discussion. This hesitation has limited follow-through from the initial regulatory rally. IBRX weekly outlook

About ImmunityBio

ImmunityBio, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing immunotherapies designed to activate and strengthen the body’s immune system against cancer and infectious diseases. The company combines cytokine-based therapies, vaccines, cellular therapies and other immune-modulating technologies in an effort to create durable treatment responses.

Its lead product, ANKTIVA (nogapendekin alfa inbakicept-pmln), is an interleukin-15 receptor agonist immune stimulator.