Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. $IOVA Position Increased by Squarepoint Ops LLC

Key Points

• Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in Iovance by 115.2% in Q2 to 856,569 shares (adding 458,540 shares), a position worth about $1.47 million and roughly 0.24% of the company.
• Analysts are mixed: the consensus rating is Hold with an average target of $11.10, while individual price targets and ratings range widely from $9 to $17 and include Buy, Hold and Sell opinions.
• Iovance trades around $2.48 with a market cap near $984 million; it reported an EPS beat (‑$0.25 vs. ‑$0.29 expected) but missed revenue and remains unprofitable with a negative net margin.

Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOVA - Free Report) by 115.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 856,569 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 458,540 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned about 0.24% of Iovance Biotherapeutics worth $1,473,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WealthTrust Axiom LLC raised its holdings in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 80.0% in the 2nd quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC now owns 18,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Flputnam Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in Iovance Biotherapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Diametric Capital LP acquired a new stake in Iovance Biotherapeutics during the second quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors own 77.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on IOVA. Chardan Capital cut their price objective on Iovance Biotherapeutics from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Barclays upped their price target on Iovance Biotherapeutics from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. HC Wainwright reduced their price objective on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics from $20.00 to $9.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $11.10.

Iovance Biotherapeutics Stock Up 0.8%

NASDAQ:IOVA opened at $2.48 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $2.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2.26. Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $1.64 and a twelve month high of $8.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $984.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.07 and a beta of 0.83.

Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.25) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.29) by $0.04. Iovance Biotherapeutics had a negative net margin of 158.78% and a negative return on equity of 55.24%. The company had revenue of $67.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $76.20 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post -1.24 earnings per share 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.

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