Here’s why ImmunityBio (IBRX) stock price surged and what next

ImmunityBio (NASDAQ: IBRX) stock price resumed its strong rally this week after the company achieved a major milestone. After dropping by over 6% in the regular session on Monday, it rebounded by over 20% in the extended session.

FDA approves ANKTIVA

This rally makes ImmunityBio one of the best-performing stocks in Wall Street as it has risen by over 100% in the past 12 months. The jump has led to a market cap of over $3.5 billion, which is remarkable for a company that was valued at about $350 million in 2023. At its peak in 2021, the company had a market cap of over $13 billion.

ImmunityBio’s stock price surged after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ANKTIVA, its drug to treat BCG-unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. In a statement, Patrick Soon-Shiong, the Global Chief Scientific and Medical Officer at the company said:

ImmunityBio is one of the top biotech companies that is developing drugs to treat diseases like advanced tumors, HIV, and other forms of cancer. Most of its drugs have moved to the second stage of the trial, meaning that they stand to benefit from Monday’s approval. 

ImmunityBio has made some important news in the past few months. The company received a $320 million investment by Oberland Capital in January. It also received $470 million investment from its founder, Patrick Shiong in September last year.

These capital-raising events helped to boost the company’s balance sheet at a time when it is still bleeding cash. The most recent financial results showed that it made a net loss of over $233 million. It has lost over $690 million in the last five quarters and the loss-making trend may continue.

Therefore, the approval by the FDA means that the company may become a good buyout target by some of the leading pharmaceutical companies. As we wrote last year, AbbVie announced a deal to acquire ImmunoGen.

ImmunityBio stock price technical analysis

IBRX stock by TradingView

Technically, we see that the stock has remained above the 50-day and 200-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMA). the two averages made a golden cross pattern in November last year. As such, there is a likelihood that the stock will rise and retest the year-to-date high of $6.78, which is about 37% above the current level.