Exploring ImmunityBio, Inc. (IBRX) Investor Profile: Who’s Buying and Why?

You're looking at ImmunityBio, Inc. (IBRX) and trying to figure out if the recent commercial traction is enough to offset the deep-pocketed institutional flight, right? The short answer is that the investor profile is a fascinating, high-stakes split: a core group of massive holders is doubling down on the ANKTIVA success story, but the overall institutional base is defintely showing caution.

In the third quarter of 2025, the company reported revenue of $32.06 million, a solid beat, which proves their commercial product is working, yet this came alongside a net loss of $67.3 million. So, who is buying into this high-growth, high-burn model? You see giants like Vanguard Group Inc. and BlackRock, Inc. holding tens of millions of shares-Vanguard alone held over 27.6 million shares as of the latest filings-but you also see a total of 388 institutional owners holding 155.8 million shares, a figure that reflects significant, yet highly concentrated, conviction. This isn't a retail-driven meme stock; it's a biotech bet where the biggest players are essentially funding the pipeline's burn rate, hoping the 467% year-to-date unit growth of ANKTIVA can close the gap to profitability.

Who Invests in ImmunityBio, Inc. (IBRX) and Why?

The investor profile for ImmunityBio, Inc. (IBRX) is a classic biotech blend: it's dominated by the founder and insiders, balanced by large, long-term institutional money, and actively traded by growth-focused funds. You're essentially betting on the success of a few key therapies, and the ownership structure reflects that high-stakes, high-growth dynamic.

The most striking feature is the high level of Insider Ownership, which stood at roughly 66.42% of the stock as of late 2025. This means the company's founder, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, and his affiliated entities, like California Capital Equity, LLC, which holds over 254 million shares, control the majority of the company. That kind of concentration is a double-edged sword: it signals strong conviction from the people who know the science best, but it also means the public float is relatively small and can be more volatile.

The remaining shares are split between institutional and retail investors. Retail investors-that's you and me, the individual accounts-hold a significant portion, around 25.02% of the stock. They are often drawn to the company's mission, which you can read more about here: Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of ImmunityBio, Inc. (IBRX).

The Institutional and Hedge Fund Footprint

Institutional investors, including mutual funds, pension funds, and hedge funds, hold a total of over 155 million shares. While this is a lower percentage than the insider stake, the sheer number of shares and the names involved are important. These are the large, sophisticated players who provide liquidity and a degree of stability.

Here's the quick math on the major institutional holders as of the third quarter of 2025 (Q3 2025):

You can see firms like Vanguard Group Inc. and BlackRock, Inc. are in the top spots. They are mostly passive investors, meaning they hold ImmunityBio, Inc. (IBRX) because it's part of a large index fund, like a Russell 2000 ETF. They aren't making a specific bet on the company, but their holdings still represent a massive, long-term capital base. Plus, their presence defintely lends credibility.

What Drives the Investment Thesis?

Investors are buying ImmunityBio, Inc. (IBRX) for one primary reason: high-growth potential in the immuno-oncology space. They aren't looking for dividends-the payout ratio is 0% as the company reinvests everything back into research and development (R&D). This is a pure growth play.

• Commercial Success: The FDA approval of ANKTIVA (a cytokine fusion protein) for specific bladder cancer is the biggest near-term catalyst. Q2 2025 revenue accelerated 60% sequentially to $26.4 million, with year-to-date sales reaching $42.9 million. That kind of commercial momentum is what investors chase.
• Pipeline Breadth: The company is a clinical-stage biotech with a focus on combination therapies to fight cancer. Its pipeline includes agents in Phase II or III trials for solid and liquid tumors. Investors are looking past the current market cap of approximately $2 billion and modeling a future where one or more of these therapies hits the market.
• Massive Upside: Analyst sentiment is notably bullish, with the average target price around $10.20 per share, suggesting an upside of over 282% from recent trading levels. That's a powerful motivator for any investor willing to take on the risk.

Investment Strategies: Growth vs. Trading

Given the company's profile, two main strategies are at play.

Growth Investing: This is the dominant strategy. Growth investors are willing to tolerate the current financial challenges-like the negative free cash flow of -$249 million and the net loss of $92.6 million in Q2 2025-because they are focused on the projected annual revenue growth of 58.4%. They are buying and holding for the next three to five years, waiting for the R&D investment to translate into blockbuster sales.

Short-Term Trading & Event-Driven Strategies: This stock is volatile, trading in a 52-week range between $1.89 and $6.17. This volatility attracts active traders and hedge funds. For example, Jane Street Group, a major trading firm, increased its position by 66.3% in Q3 2025, holding over 12.8 million shares. This suggests they are actively positioning around regulatory news, clinical trial updates, and quarterly sales figures. They are using the stock's swings to generate returns, a classic event-driven strategy in biotech.

What this estimate hides is the high risk. Biotech is binary: a single FDA decision can make or break the stock. Your action should be to understand which camp you are in: a long-term growth investor focused on the pipeline, or an active trader capitalizing on the volatility.

Institutional Ownership and Major Shareholders of ImmunityBio, Inc. (IBRX)

You want to know who is really buying into ImmunityBio, Inc. (IBRX) and why, especially with the stock's volatility. The direct takeaway is that institutional investors-the big money managers-hold a significant, and recently growing, stake, signaling a calculated bet on the company's long-term clinical pipeline, despite near-term financial risks.

As of the end of the third quarter of the 2025 fiscal year, institutional ownership in ImmunityBio, Inc. stood at approximately 14.56% of total shares outstanding, representing a total of over 143.4 million shares held. This isn't a passive investment; it's a vote of confidence from entities like Vanguard Group Inc. and BlackRock, Inc. who have the deep research teams to assess the complex biopharma landscape. These investors are looking past the daily price swings to the potential of the company's investigational therapies, like ANKTIVA, in advanced cancer treatment.

Top Institutional Investors: Who Holds the Keys?

When you look at the largest holders, you see the names that anchor the entire market. For IBRX, the top institutional investors are dominated by index funds and major asset managers, which is typical for a stock in the Russell 2000 Index. The presence of these firms provides a baseline of stability, even in a high-risk biotech play. Here is a snapshot of the largest institutional stakes as of September 30, 2025:

Here's the quick math: Vanguard and BlackRock alone control a significant portion of the institutional float, totaling over 47.4 million shares. This concentration means their trading activity can defintely move the stock price, so watching their quarterly filings is crucial.

Recent Shifts: Are Institutions Buying or Selling?

The trend is clear: institutional investors have been net buyers recently. During the quarter ending September 30, 2025, there was a noticeable increase in accumulation, which is a key signal in a development-stage company like ImmunityBio, Inc..

• Increased Positions: 145 institutions increased their holdings, adding a total of 39,215,990 shares.
• Decreased Positions: Only 79 institutions reduced their stakes, selling 20,170,299 shares.
• New Stake: Heights Capital Management, Inc. established a new, substantial position of 6,565,709 shares, valued at approximately $16.15 million.

This net buying activity-more institutions adding more shares than those selling-suggests that the market sees a positive risk-reward profile, particularly following the company's reported substantial revenue growth to $32.06 million in Q3 2025, up from $6.11 million a year prior. When a major fund like Vanguard increases its stake by over 26% and BlackRock increases theirs by more than 11%, it tells you they are actively re-evaluating the company's potential in light of clinical progress or market conditions.

Impact of Institutional Investors on IBRX's Trajectory

In a biotech firm, institutional investors play a dual role: they are both capital providers and strategic validators. For ImmunityBio, Inc., which operates with a limited cash runway and has faced shareholder dilution, the institutional backing is vital.

First, their sheer size provides liquidity and market validation. When a fund like BlackRock is a major shareholder, it lends credibility to the company's long-term vision and its Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of ImmunityBio, Inc. (IBRX). Second, their investment provides crucial capital that helps fund the expensive, multi-year process of drug development and clinical trials. This is a critical lifeline for a company forecasting a significant annual revenue increase of 58.4%. Third, large, active shareholders can influence corporate strategy, particularly concerning capital allocation and future financing decisions. They want to see a clear path to commercialization and profitability, especially given the ongoing financial challenges and negative equity.

What this estimate hides is the nature of the investment: much of the Vanguard and BlackRock holdings are passive index funds, meaning they buy IBRX because it's in an index like the Russell 2000. But the active buying from hedge funds and asset managers, like the new position from Heights Capital Management, Inc., is the real indicator of a strategic, bullish conviction.

Next Step: Review the company's latest S-3 shelf registration and private placement details to gauge how the new institutional capital will extend the cash runway and fund the next phase of clinical trials.

Key Investors and Their Impact on ImmunityBio, Inc. (IBRX)

If you're looking at ImmunityBio, Inc. (IBRX), the first thing you need to understand is that this is not a stock driven by the typical institutional herd; it's an insider-controlled story. The investor profile is unique, with a massive concentration of shares held by the founder and related entities, which means their vision-and their capital-is the primary driver of the company's direction and the stock's volatility.

The company's founder, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, holds considerable sway through private entities like California Capital Equity, LLC and NantWorks, LLC. As of November 2025, these two entities alone hold stakes of up to 25.83% and 10.00%, respectively. Honestly, when insiders own upwards of 66% of the stock, as they do here, the public float (the shares available for trading) is small, and the founder's influence on strategic decisions is nearly absolute.

The Dominance of Insider Ownership

The high level of insider ownership is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it signals a deep, vested interest in the long-term success of the company and its core product, ANKTIVA. On the other hand, it means institutional investors (mutual funds, pensions) hold a smaller piece of the pie, which can limit the stock's stability and liquidity. Institutional ownership, which is typically a sign of broad market confidence, has been reported as low as 0.03% in September 2025, though other measures put it around 13.16% as of October 2025.

Here's the quick math on the major players:

• Insider & Related Parties: Own the majority, making them the ultimate decision-makers on everything from R&D spend to major financing moves.
• Institutional Investors: Hold a smaller, yet significant, portion, including large index funds that buy based on market capitalization (passive investing).
• Retail Investors: Hold a substantial portion of the remaining float, which often contributes to high volatility.

Notable Institutional Holders and Their Passive Stance

While the founder is the primary force, you still see the big names on the shareholder list. Firms like Vanguard Group Inc and BlackRock, Inc. are major institutional holders, but their positions are often driven by index-tracking strategies rather than deep, activist conviction. They are passive giants, not active players trying to change the company's strategy.

As of late 2025, the top institutional holders include:

These firms are buying because ImmunityBio, Inc. is in the index, not because they're defintely endorsing the high-risk, high-reward biotech model. They are simply tracking the market. To be fair, their collective buying does provide a baseline level of demand for the stock.

Recent Investor Moves and Governance Shifts

In 2025, we saw a few key moves that map out the near-term risk and opportunity. On the buying side, AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new position of 2,974,878 shares in Q2 2025, valued at approximately $7.85 million, signaling new institutional interest in the commercialization story. But still, the biggest recent impact wasn't a trade; it was a governance reform.

Following a court-approved settlement in late 2024, the company was required to implement governance reforms, including adding an independent director to its board. This is a crucial, if reactive, step toward better corporate stewardship, which investors will be watching closely. It shows that even with high insider control, shareholder litigation (a form of activism) can force structural changes.

The market is clearly reacting to the company's commercial progress. ImmunityBio, Inc.'s total product revenue for the first nine months of 2025 hit $74.7 million, a significant jump from the previous year, driven by ANKTIVA sales. The consensus revenue estimate for the full 2025 fiscal year is around $101.9 million, which is a huge growth story, even if the predicted per-share loss of $0.52 reminds us this is still a clinical-stage biotech.

For a deeper dive into the company's foundation and business model, you can read ImmunityBio, Inc. (IBRX): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money.

Next Step: Review the Q4 2025 earnings report when released to see if the full-year revenue hits the $101.9 million consensus, which will be the next major signal of commercial success.

Market Impact and Investor Sentiment

The investor profile for ImmunityBio, Inc. (IBRX) is a classic biotech story: highly concentrated insider ownership paired with a mixed but increasingly positive institutional sentiment driven by clinical milestones, not current profitability. You need to look past the low institutional float to see the conviction.

Insider ownership remains the dominant force, with insiders holding approximately 30% of the stock as of November 2025, which is a massive alignment of interests. Institutional ownership, by contrast, is relatively low at about 8.58% of the stock, but the recent activity within that small slice is what's telling. It's not about the quantity of institutions, but the quality and size of their bets.

The overall sentiment is one of cautious optimism, or a 'Moderate Buy,' from the Street, but the market is defintely weighing the immense potential of the cancer pipeline against the near-term financial reality of a commercial-stage biotech. The stock's performance is less about macro trends and more about trial data. That's the one-liner here: Clinical execution is the only thing that matters.

Reading the Institutional Tea Leaves: Who's Buying

When you look at the institutional activity in the second and third quarters of 2025, you see a clear pattern of major funds initiating or significantly increasing their positions, signaling a strong belief in the long-term commercial potential of the company's immunotherapy platforms.

For example, Heights Capital Management established a new position in Q3 2025, purchasing 6,565,709 shares valued at approximately $16.15 million. This isn't a small, passive investment; it's a vote of confidence in the company's ability to navigate the long, challenging journey from development to market. Also, BlackRock, Inc. added 4,477,157 shares to its portfolio in Q2 2025, a 33.7% increase, valued at about $11.82 million.

This kind of aggressive accumulation from sophisticated money managers suggests they are looking past the current stock price and focusing on the potential of the drug pipeline, especially ANKTIVA (N-803). Here is a quick snapshot of the significant institutional moves in 2025:

Recent Market Reactions and Catalysts

The stock market's response to ImmunityBio, Inc. (IBRX) is highly reactive to clinical data, which is typical for a biotech firm. The stock was trading near $2.08 in November 2025, but any positive news from the pipeline can cause a sharp reaction.

For example, in September 2025, the stock surged by 8.14% following encouraging findings from a Phase I trial for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Similarly, positive data from the Phase 2 QUILT-3.055 study for ANKTIVA, which demonstrated that reversing lymphopenia (a low white blood cell count) led to significantly longer overall survival, generated a bullish reaction from Wall Street. This is a crucial detail because it validates the core science.

The Q3 2025 earnings report also provided a significant catalyst, showing total revenue of $33.7 million, up from $26.4 million in the second quarter. Total product revenue for the first nine months of 2025 hit $74.7 million, a massive 434% increase over the same period in 2024. This commercial traction for ANKTIVA is what's starting to change the narrative from a pure R&D story to a commercial-stage company.

Analyst Perspectives: The $10.75 Question

Wall Street analysts are clearly bullish on the long-term potential, despite the near-term financial losses. The consensus among the analysts covering ImmunityBio, Inc. (IBRX) is a 'Moderate Buy' rating, with four Buy ratings against one Sell rating.

The average twelve-month price target is set at $10.75, with a high-end target reaching $24.00. Here's the quick math: with the stock trading near $2.08, the average target suggests a forecasted upside of over 400%. This wide range reflects the binary nature of biotech investing-it either works, or it doesn't.

What this estimate hides, however, is the reliance on the company hitting its commercial and clinical targets. Analysts anticipate the company's full fiscal year 2025 revenue to be around $107.63 million, a staggering 629.94% increase over the prior year. Still, they project continued per-share losses (EPS) of approximately -$0.53 for the year. The investment thesis is simple: revenue growth needs to outpace the burn rate, and the current forecast suggests that's the trajectory. For a deeper dive into the company's foundation, you can review ImmunityBio, Inc. (IBRX): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money.

To capitalize on this bullish outlook, your next step should be to:

• Monitor: Track the Q4 2025 ANKTIVA sales figures closely.
• Finance: Model the cash runway based on the projected 2026 EPS of -$0.36.