Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA) Reaches New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOVA)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday 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 $4.38 and last traded at $4.29, with a volume of 9582041 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.26.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IOVA. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 115.2% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 856,569 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,473,000 after purchasing an additional 458,540 shares during the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in Iovance Biotherapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,118,000. Voss Capital LP acquired a new position in Iovance Biotherapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,157,000. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 147,271 shares during the period. Finally, Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC bought a new position in Iovance Biotherapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $1,056,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.03% of the company’s stock.

Iovance Biotherapeutics Stock Up 12.0%

The company has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.58 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $2.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2.50.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.22) by $0.04. Iovance Biotherapeutics had a negative net margin of 148.41% and a negative return on equity of 54.54%. The company had revenue of $86.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.61 million. Analysts predict that Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post -1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.