Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA) Trading 9.9% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOVA) shares rose 9.9% on Wednesday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $2.00 to $4.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Iovance Biotherapeutics traded as high as $4.13 and last traded at $4.11. Approximately 11,445,895 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 18% from the average daily volume of 13,949,900 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.74.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on IOVA. Wall Street Zen upgraded Iovance Biotherapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Citizens Jmp raised Iovance Biotherapeutics from a “market perform” rating to a “market outperform” rating and set a $5.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Chardan Capital lowered their price target on Iovance Biotherapeutics from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $2.00 price target on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.88.

Institutional Trading of Iovance Biotherapeutics

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 115.2% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 856,569 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,473,000 after acquiring an additional 458,540 shares during the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,118,000. Voss Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,157,000. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 326.5% during the 2nd quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 192,378 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 147,271 shares during the period. Finally, Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC bought a new position in Iovance Biotherapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,056,000. Institutional investors own 77.03% of the company’s stock.

Iovance Biotherapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.09 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $2.82 and its 200 day moving average is $2.48.

Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.04. The business had revenue of $86.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.61 million. Iovance Biotherapeutics had a negative return on equity of 54.54% and a negative net margin of 148.41%. On average, analysts forecast that Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post -1.24 EPS for the current year.

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.