Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA) Shares Up 6.7% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Shares jumped 6.7% to about $2.30 on Tuesday, but volume was down ~58% from the average and the stock is trading near its 50- and 200-day moving averages (~$2.24–$2.25).
• Analysts are mixed: Barclays raised its price target to $9 with an "overweight" rating while others cut targets, and the market consensus remains a "Hold" with a $11 consensus target (6 Buy, 7 Hold, 2 Sell).
• Iovance is still unprofitable—negative net margin and return on equity—despite beating EPS estimates last quarter and posting a revenue miss; market cap is about $911M and institutional investors own roughly 77% of the stock.

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOVA - Get Free Report) shot up 6.7% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $2.26 and last traded at $2.3040. 5,660,786 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 13,505,381 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.16.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Iovance Biotherapeutics from $4.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. HC Wainwright lowered their price target on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics from $20.00 to $9.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Chardan Capital reduced their price target on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $11.00.

Iovance Biotherapeutics Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $911.05 million, a PE ratio of -1.92 and a beta of 0.82. The company's 50-day moving average price is $2.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.25.

Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $67.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $76.20 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post -1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Iovance Biotherapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IOVA. Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new stake in Iovance Biotherapeutics in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. WealthTrust Axiom LLC increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 8,000 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 67.6% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 15,111 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 6,095 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Iovance Biotherapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 77.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Iovance Biotherapeutics

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc, a commercial-stage biotechnology company, develops and commercializes cell therapies using autologous tumor infiltrating lymphocyte for the treatment of metastatic melanoma and other solid tumor cancers in the United States. The company offers Amtagvi, a tumor-derived autologous T cell immunotherapy used to treat adult patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma; and Proleukin, an interleukin-2 product for the treatment of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

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