Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOVA)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $7.00 and last traded at $6.98, with a volume of 17302868 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $6.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on IOVA shares. Robert W. Baird set a $6.00 price target on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Citizens Jmp boosted their price objective on Iovance Biotherapeutics from $5.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in a report on Friday, August 7th. Chardan Capital lowered their target price on Iovance Biotherapeutics from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.00.

Iovance Biotherapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.56 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.94.

Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.02. Iovance Biotherapeutics had a negative net margin of 89.11% and a negative return on equity of 40.51%. The company had revenue of $198.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.83 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.33) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 65.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $153,744,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 20,161,445 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,041,000 after acquiring an additional 6,851,486 shares in the last quarter. Palo Alto Investors LP grew its holdings in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 122.1% in the 3rd quarter. Palo Alto Investors LP now owns 7,618,132 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $16,531,000 after acquiring an additional 4,188,803 shares during the last quarter. HRT Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 1,078.3% in the 4th quarter. HRT Financial LP now owns 4,356,010 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $11,891,000 after acquiring an additional 3,986,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 202.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,777,344 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $19,239,000 after purchasing an additional 3,869,617 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.03% of the company’s stock.

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.