Inovio Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:INO) Upgraded to Buy at HC Wainwright

Key Points

• HC Wainwright upgraded Inovio Pharmaceuticals to “Buy” from “Neutral,” while analysts overall hold a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and a $4.00 average price target.
• Inovio shares opened at $0.60, near the company’s 52-week low of $0.56, with a market capitalization of approximately $62.3 million.
• The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.07 per share, outperforming analysts’ expected loss of $0.22; institutional investors own 26.79% of its stock.

Inovio Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:INO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at HC Wainwright from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on INO. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Inovio Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Inovio Pharmaceuticals from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Zacks Research cut shares of Inovio Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $4.00 target price on shares of Inovio Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Inovio Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "positive" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $1.80 to $3.00 in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $4.00.

Inovio Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:INO opened at $0.60 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $1.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.29 million, a P/E ratio of -0.66 and a beta of 1.71. Inovio Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $0.56 and a 52 week high of $2.72.

Inovio Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:INO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.22) by $0.15. On average, analysts expect that Inovio Pharmaceuticals will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Inovio Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in Inovio Pharmaceuticals by 46.5% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 36,391 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 11,554 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Inovio Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new position in Inovio Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Green Alpha Advisors LLC raised its stake in Inovio Pharmaceuticals by 68.8% during the 3rd quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 114,857 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 46,802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Inovio Pharmaceuticals by 312.4% in the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 70,636 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 53,510 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.79% of the company's stock.

About Inovio Pharmaceuticals

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on developing DNA medicines, including DNA-based vaccines and immunotherapies designed to treat or prevent infectious diseases, cancers and other serious conditions. The company's platform is intended to stimulate targeted immune responses by delivering DNA medicines into cells.

Inovio's product pipeline has included investigational therapies such as INO-3107, a DNA immunotherapy being developed for recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, and other candidates targeting cancer and infectious diseases.