Lyell Immunopharma
LYEL on Nasdaq. Pharmaceutical preparations. Market value $222m.
Price checks use the past 12 months to June 2026. Quality checks use five annual reports, the latest for the year to December 2025.
Capital spending looks too small to be complete, so we leave free cash flow out.
Should I look at this?
Not a fit for our list right now
Why it could be worth it
See Health care stocks that passed both tests
This is not advice. Check the numbers below.
For every $100 of what the whole company costs, it produced $-63.50 of spare cash in the past 12 months. A savings account pays about $4.
The filings do not give us enough to work this out.
Each dollar kept in the business earns -38 cents a year. Above 10 is good.
Quality score: 30 of 100. Price score: 0 of 100. Our list needs 70 on quality and 60 on price.
$8.61 a share, at its 1-year low
Over the past year the price has ranged from $8.59 to $45.00.
Pays no dividend
Prices from Tuesday’s close (6 October).
Five years of cash, in billions
| Revenue | |||||
| Revenue | $11m | $85m | $130,000 | $61,000 | $36,000 |
| Operating margin | |||||
| Operating margin | -2016.7% | -220.9% | -190006.2% | -588123.0% | -748344.4% |
| Debt to equity | |||||
| Debt to equity | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Shares outstanding | |||||
| Shares outstanding | 0.25bn | 0.25bn | 0.28bn | 0.02bn | 0.02bn |
Health checks
- Free cash flow positive0 of 2 years
- Accounting looks honest (Beneish)Not enough data
- Financial strength (Piotroski)1 of 8 checks we could run
- Profit backed by cash (accruals)No
- Debt0.00× equity
- Revenue growth, five yearsShrinking, 75.9% a year
- Buying back its own sharesYes, 90% fewer since 2021
The quarter to June 2026
How the business did, compared with the same quarter a year earlier.
- Sales: $4,000 last quarter, down 50% on a year ago.
- A loss of $45 million, compared with a loss of $43 million a year ago.
- It loses 949981 cents on each $1 of sales, compared with 593598 cents a year earlier.
- 58% more shares than a year ago. Each share owns a bit less of the company.
- It has $73 million more cash than debt, down from $99 million a year ago.
- Sales did not grow on a year ago in any of the last 4 quarters.
| Quarter to | Amount |
|---|---|
| September 2024 | $34,000 |
| December 2024 | $11,000 |
| March 2025 | $7,000 |
| June 2025 | $8,000 |
| September 2025 | $15,000 |
| December 2025 | $6,000 |
| March 2026 | $2,000 |
| June 2026 | $4,000 |
| Quarter to | Amount |
|---|---|
| September 2024 | -$45m |
| December 2024 | -$192m |
| March 2025 | -$52m |
| June 2025 | -$43m |
| September 2025 | -$39m |
| December 2025 | -$141m |
| March 2026 | -$24m |
| June 2026 | -$45m |
From the company's quarterly reports to the SEC.
Dates
- Next results (estimated)
- n/a
- Last annual report (10-K)
- 12 March 2026
- Next quarterly (estimated, 10-Q)
- 5 November 2026
Who owns it
None of the long-term investors we follow own it. 87 funds in all.
Largest holders overall
- ARCH Venture Management$46m
- GSK$21m
- Vanguard Capital Management$11mAdded
- Orland Properties$11m
- BlackRock$10mAdded
- Decheng Capital$10m
- Almitas Capital$8m
- Foresite Capital Management V$7m
- Millennium Management$5mCut
- Opaleye Management$5mAdded
From 13F filings for the quarter ended 30 June 2026.
Big holders and activists
9 investors own more than 5%.
- ARCH Venture Fund IX, L.P.Passive investorat least 13.9%+0.9 pts(filed with 11 related holders)Since 31 March 2026
- Innovative Cellular Therapeutics Holdings LimitedPassive investor12.3%+2.5 ptsSince 18 May 2026
- EULER FUND, L.P.Passive investorat least 6.7%(filed with 2 related holders)Since 6 March 2026
- James TananbaumPassive investor6.7%Since 31 December 2024
- Explore Investments LLCPassive investorat least 6.6%+1.2 pts(filed with 1 related holder)Since 31 March 2026
- Gates Frontier, LLCPassive investorat least 5.6%(filed with 1 related holder)Since 25 July 2025
- MWG Caph LtdPassive investorat least 4.3%(filed with 1 related holder)Since 31 March 2026
- Newton (PTC) LimitedPassive investorat least 3.9%(filed with 3 related holders)Since 30 September 2025
- James B. TananbaumPassive investorat least 2.7%−4.9 pts(filed with 6 related holders)Since 30 June 2026
- BlackRock, Inc.Passive investorSold down below 5%Since 31 December 2024
| Holder | Stake | Since | |
|---|---|---|---|
ARCH Venture Fund IX, L.P. Passive investor | at least 13.9%+0.9 pts (filed with 11 related holders) | 31 March 2026 | |
Innovative Cellular Therapeutics Holdings Limited Passive investor | 12.3%+2.5 pts | 18 May 2026 | |
EULER FUND, L.P. Passive investor | at least 6.7% (filed with 2 related holders) | 6 March 2026 | |
James Tananbaum Passive investor | 6.7% | 31 December 2024 | |
Explore Investments LLC Passive investor | at least 6.6%+1.2 pts (filed with 1 related holder) | 31 March 2026 | |
Gates Frontier, LLC Passive investor | at least 5.6% (filed with 1 related holder) | 25 July 2025 | |
MWG Caph Ltd Passive investor | at least 4.3% (filed with 1 related holder) | 31 March 2026 | |
Newton (PTC) Limited Passive investor | at least 3.9% (filed with 3 related holders) | 30 September 2025 | |
James B. Tananbaum Passive investor | at least 2.7%−4.9 pts (filed with 6 related holders) | 30 June 2026 | |
BlackRock, Inc. Passive investor | Sold down below 5% | 31 December 2024 |
From Schedule 13D and 13G filings: anyone owning more than 5% must file one.
What insiders did
No insider bought shares on the open market in the last 12 months. 5 sold $604,312.
- Shook DavidChief Medical OfficerSold
- Date
- 10 September 2026
- Shares
- 500
- Price
- $12.70
- Value
- $6,350
- Lee Gary K.Chief Scientific OfficerSold
- Date
- 21 August 2026
- Shares
- 1,457
- Price
- $15.54
- Value
- $22,642
- Hill Stephen J.Chief Operating OfficerSold
- Date
- 21 August 2026
- Shares
- 989
- Price
- $15.54
- Value
- $15,369
- Seely LynnPresident and CEO, DirectorSold
- Date
- 21 August 2026
- Shares
- 9,589
- Price
- $15.54
- Value
- $149,013
- Bulis Veronica SanchezVP, Corporate ControllerSold
- Date
- 10 August 2026
- Shares
- 621
- Price
- $14.34
- Value
- $8,905
- Lee Gary K.Chief Scientific OfficerSold
- Date
- 10 August 2026
- Shares
- 131
- Price
- $14.34
- Value
- $1,879
- Hill Stephen J.Chief Operating OfficerSold
- Date
- 10 August 2026
- Shares
- 89
- Price
- $14.34
- Value
- $1,276
- Seely LynnPresident and CEO, DirectorSold
- Date
- 10 August 2026
- Shares
- 390
- Price
- $14.34
- Value
- $5,593
- Shook DavidChief Medical OfficerSold
- Date
- 10 June 2026
- Shares
- 1,977
- Price
- $12.64
- Value
- $24,989
- Bulis Veronica SanchezVP, Corporate ControllerSold
- Date
- 11 May 2026
- Shares
- 217
- Price
- $18.91
- Value
- $4,103
| Date | Who | Did | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 September 2026 | Shook David Chief Medical Officer | Sold | 500 | $12.70 | $6,350 |
| 21 August 2026 | Lee Gary K. Chief Scientific Officer | Sold | 1,457 | $15.54 | $22,642 |
| 21 August 2026 | Hill Stephen J. Chief Operating Officer | Sold | 989 | $15.54 | $15,369 |
| 21 August 2026 | Seely Lynn President and CEO, Director | Sold | 9,589 | $15.54 | $149,013 |
| 10 August 2026 | Bulis Veronica Sanchez VP, Corporate Controller | Sold | 621 | $14.34 | $8,905 |
| 10 August 2026 | Lee Gary K. Chief Scientific Officer | Sold | 131 | $14.34 | $1,879 |
| 10 August 2026 | Hill Stephen J. Chief Operating Officer | Sold | 89 | $14.34 | $1,276 |
| 10 August 2026 | Seely Lynn President and CEO, Director | Sold | 390 | $14.34 | $5,593 |
| 10 June 2026 | Shook David Chief Medical Officer | Sold | 1,977 | $12.64 | $24,989 |
| 11 May 2026 | Bulis Veronica Sanchez VP, Corporate Controller | Sold | 217 | $18.91 | $4,103 |
From Form 4 filings: insiders must report trades in their own company's shares within two days.
Warning signs in its filings
Problems the company itself reported to the SEC, in its own words.
None of the warning signs we check for were found.
We look for five warning signs: doubt it can keep going, weak checks on its own accounts, a notice that its past accounts can't be relied on, a change of auditor, and one customer bringing in a big share of sales. We don't check lawsuits, investigations or debt yet.
We checked the auditor's report, internal controls, restatement notices, auditor changes and big customers in the 10-K filed 12 Mar 2026, plus the 10-Q filed 6 Aug 2026 and 4 later 8-Ks.
A 10-K is the yearly report every US company files with the SEC. An 8-K is a short notice of a big event.
What could go wrong
- Sales have shrunk: 75.9% a year.
Whether the price already reflects the risks is what the deep dive is for.
The deep dive
Everything above is arithmetic on public filings. The deep dive reads the last ten years of annual reports, the proxy statements, and the earnings calls, then argues the case the way Buffett, Klarman, and Hohn would, and checks every claim against the source.
- What the business is worth, as a range, and the margin of safety at today’s price
- Prices to start buying, buy, and buy hard
- The three things that would make this a mistake
- Every number footnoted to the filing it came from
Your first deep dive is free.
Not advice. Numbers on this page come from SEC filings and are updated each night; prices are updated again after the US market closes. The five-year figures are rounded.