Iovance Biotherapeutics Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:IOVA)

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOVA) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 13,815 call options on the company. This is an increase of 56% compared to the average volume of 8,882 call options.

Iovance Biotherapeutics Price Performance

Iovance Biotherapeutics stock traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $5.24. The stock had a trading volume of 13,725,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,207,855. Iovance Biotherapeutics has a one year low of $1.76 and a one year high of $5.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $4.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.57. The company has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.51 and a beta of 0.70.

Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.19) EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.19). The business had revenue of $71.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.84 million. Iovance Biotherapeutics had a negative return on equity of 50.17% and a negative net margin of 123.92%.The company’s revenue was up 44.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.36) EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Iovance Biotherapeutics will post -0.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iovance Biotherapeutics

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Xponance LLC increased 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 worth $66,000 after buying an additional 3,950 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 1.4% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Orion Investment Co raised its holdings in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 0.3% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 37.9% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 46,812 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 5,563 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on IOVA. Chardan Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Truist Financial upgraded Iovance Biotherapeutics to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.43.

About Iovance Biotherapeutics

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.