Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA) Stock Price Up 12.5% – Here’s Why

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOVA) shares rose 12.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $4.22 and last traded at $4.2650. Approximately 3,337,288 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 14,918,423 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.79.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IOVA has been the topic of several research reports. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics from a “market perform” rating to a “market outperform” rating and set a $5.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics from $2.00 to $4.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Chardan Capital reduced their price target on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.43.

Iovance Biotherapeutics Stock Down 3.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a PE ratio of -4.45 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $3.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.18.

Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $71.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.84 million. Iovance Biotherapeutics had a negative net margin of 123.92% and a negative return on equity of 50.17%. The business’s revenue was up 44.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.36) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post -0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Iovance Biotherapeutics

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Xponance LLC boosted its stake in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 24,288 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 3,950 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 1.4% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 324,098 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 4,618 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 41.4% during the third quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 16,043 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 4,700 shares during the period. Orion Investment Co boosted its stake in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Orion Investment Co now owns 1,856,934 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,069,000 after purchasing an additional 5,150 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 19,290 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 5,301 shares during the period. 77.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Iovance Biotherapeutics Company Profile

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc is a clinical‐stage biotechnology company specializing in the development and commercialization of tumor‐infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) immunotherapies for the treatment of solid tumors. The company’s lead product candidate, lifileucel (formerly LN‐144), is an autologous TIL therapy in late‐stage clinical development for patients with advanced melanoma. Iovance’s pipeline also includes next‐generation TIL programs such as LN‐145 for cervical and other human papillomavirus (HPV)‐related cancers, as well as exploratory studies in head and neck, non‐small cell lung, gastric and other solid tumor indications.

Iovance’s TIL platform harnesses a patient’s own immune system by isolating, expanding and reinfusing tumor‐reactive lymphocytes.