A preparation of off-the-shelf (OTS), allogeneic natural killer (NK) cells engineered to express a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) specific for the tumor-associated antigen (TAA) human interleukin-3 receptor alpha chain (IL3RA; cluster of differentiation 123; CD123), with potential immunomodulating and antineoplastic activities. Upon administration, allogeneic anti-CD123 CAR-NK cells JD123 recognize, bind to and induce selective cytotoxicity in CD123-expressing tumor cells. CD123 is normally expressed on committed blood progenitor cells in the bone marrow; its overexpression is associated with both increased leukemic cell proliferation and aggressiveness.