Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA) Reaches New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Iovance hit a new 52-week high after UBS raised its price target from $2.00 to $4.00 (UBS maintained a neutral rating), with shares trading as high as $4.38 and last at $4.29 on heavy volume.
• Analyst coverage is mixed: the consensus is an average Hold with an average price target of $8.88, while individual targets range widely (e.g., $2 from Goldman Sachs to $16 from Chardan) and several firms recently changed ratings or targets.
• The company reported Q4 EPS of -$0.18 (beating estimates of -$0.22) and revenue of $86.77M (above expectations), but remains unprofitable with a negative net margin and ROE, a market cap of about $1.75B, and roughly 77% institutional ownership.

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOVA - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during 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 trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $4.26.

IOVA has been the subject of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $2.00 price objective on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report 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 report on Tuesday. Chardan Capital decreased their price target on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $8.88.

Institutional Trading of Iovance Biotherapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IOVA. Vontobel Holding Ltd. acquired a new position in Iovance Biotherapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Iovance Biotherapeutics in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Arcataur Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Iovance Biotherapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Granite Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Motley Fool Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.03% of the company's stock.

Iovance Biotherapeutics Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $2.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of -3.80 and a beta of 0.69.

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

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.

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