Immunocore (NASDAQ:IMCR) Cut to “Hold” at Jefferies Financial Group

Immunocore (NASDAQ:IMCR) was downgraded by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. They presently have a $33.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 6.93% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on IMCR. UBS Group set a $55.00 price objective on Immunocore and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research downgraded Immunocore from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Immunocore in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Immunocore from $71.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Immunocore in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.80.

Immunocore Stock Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:IMCR opened at $30.86 on Monday. Immunocore has a one year low of $23.15 and a one year high of $40.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 4.04 and a quick ratio of 4.01. The company has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a PE ratio of -44.09 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.33.

Immunocore (NASDAQ:IMCR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.60) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.28) by ($0.32). The business had revenue of $104.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $145.48 million. Immunocore had a negative net margin of 8.88% and a negative return on equity of 9.20%. The company’s revenue was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.47) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Immunocore will post -0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Immunocore

In other news, CEO Bahija Jallal sold 11,474 shares of Immunocore stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total value of $371,183.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $399,296.05. This trade represents a 48.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider David M. Berman sold 5,965 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total value of $192,967.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,859 shares in the company, valued at $189,538.65. This represents a 50.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 19,137 shares of company stock worth $619,082 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 10.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Immunocore

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IMCR. Bellevue Group AG lifted its stake in Immunocore by 99.9% in the second quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 2,441,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,625,000 after buying an additional 1,220,036 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its position in shares of Immunocore by 40.8% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,771,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,349,000 after buying an additional 1,092,824 shares during the period. BVF Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Immunocore in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,142,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Immunocore by 334.3% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,265,965 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,993,000 after acquiring an additional 974,463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vestal Point Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Immunocore during the 4th quarter valued at $20,305,000. 84.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Immunocore

Immunocore plc is a clinical‐stage biotechnology company focused on the development of novel immunotherapies that harness the body’s own T‐cell response to treat cancer and infectious diseases. The company’s proprietary ImmTAC (immune mobilising monoclonal T‐cell receptors against cancer) platform utilizes engineered, soluble T‐cell receptor (TCR) molecules designed to recognise intracellular peptide–HLA complexes. By redirecting and activating T cells against disease‐associated targets, Immunocore aims to address malignancies and persistent viral infections with high unmet medical need.

The company’s most advanced candidate, tebentafusp, is a bispecific ImmTAC molecule that targets gp100, a melanoma‐associated antigen, and has received regulatory approval for the treatment of metastatic uveal melanoma.