Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA) Stock Price Down 8% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Iovance Biotherapeutics shares fell 8% to about $4.32, with trading volume significantly below its average. The stock has a market capitalization of approximately $1.81 billion.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: five analysts rate the stock a Buy, three Hold and two Sell, producing an overall “Hold” rating and an average price target of $8.43. Chardan Capital lowered its target to $14 while maintaining a Buy rating.
• The company met quarterly EPS expectations at a loss of $0.19, but revenue of $71.43 million fell short of estimates; revenue still increased 44.9% year over year. Institutional ownership stands at 77.03%, with several major investors increasing their positions.

Shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOVA - Get Free Report) traded down 8% on Friday . The company traded as low as $4.34 and last traded at $4.3150. Approximately 1,637,252 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 15,006,516 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.69.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IOVA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Chardan Capital reduced their price objective on Iovance Biotherapeutics from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $8.43.

Iovance Biotherapeutics Stock Down 13.5%

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $4.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.70. The company has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.26 and a beta of 0.70.

Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.19). Iovance Biotherapeutics had a negative net margin of 123.92% and a negative return on equity of 50.17%. The business had revenue of $71.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.84 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.36) earnings per share. Iovance Biotherapeutics's revenue for the quarter was up 44.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post -0.6 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iovance Biotherapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 161.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 522,887 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,740,000 after acquiring an additional 322,680 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 279.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 59,540 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 43,829 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 30.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,571,902 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $18,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,301,846 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 202.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,777,344 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $19,239,000 after purchasing an additional 3,869,617 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 112.1% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 47,466 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 25,083 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.03% of the company's stock.

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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