Lyell Immunopharma (NASDAQ:LYEL) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Lyell Immunopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYEL) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $24.78, but opened at $23.24. Lyell Immunopharma shares last traded at $23.1450, with a volume of 3,350 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on LYEL shares. Zacks Research cut Lyell Immunopharma from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Citizens Jmp started coverage on Lyell Immunopharma in a report on Monday, March 9th. They issued a “market outperform” rating and a $34.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on Lyell Immunopharma in a research report on Friday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $44.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised Lyell Immunopharma from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lyell Immunopharma in a research report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lyell Immunopharma has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.00.

Lyell Immunopharma Trading Down 1.8%

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.23. The company has a market capitalization of $540.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.42 and a beta of -0.06.

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). Lyell Immunopharma had a negative net margin of 762,355.56% and a negative return on equity of 90.52%. The business had revenue of $0.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.02 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Lyell Immunopharma, Inc. will post -10.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Lyell Immunopharma

In related news, insider Gary K. Lee sold 1,671 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly owned 16,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,179.82. This represents a 8.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Stephen J. Hill sold 1,236 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.39, for a total value of $28,910.04. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 17,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $416,225.05. This represents a 6.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,310 shares of company stock valued at $264,285. Corporate insiders own 22.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lyell Immunopharma

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYEL. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Lyell Immunopharma by 773.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 174,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 154,327 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Lyell Immunopharma in the second quarter worth $94,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lyell Immunopharma in the second quarter worth $159,000. BBR Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Lyell Immunopharma in the fourth quarter worth $210,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Lyell Immunopharma in the second quarter worth $258,000. 66.05% of the stock is 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.