Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA) Trading 32.8% Higher - Should You Buy?

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOVA - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 32.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $3.83 and last traded at $4.16. 13,731,600 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 40% from the average session volume of 9,813,319 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.13.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial lowered Iovance Biotherapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Citizens Jmp lowered Iovance Biotherapeutics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Chardan Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in a report on Wednesday. Baird R W downgraded Iovance Biotherapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, HC Wainwright cut their price target on Iovance Biotherapeutics from $32.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Iovance Biotherapeutics currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.22.

Iovance Biotherapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $2.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of -2.48 and a beta of 0.85.

Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.36) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.25) by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $49.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $83.40 million. Iovance Biotherapeutics had a negative net margin of 176.49% and a negative return on equity of 49.71%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6795.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.42) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post -1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iovance Biotherapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aberdeen Group plc grew its position in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 291.7% in the second quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 516,289 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $888,000 after acquiring an additional 384,489 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc. grew its position in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 17.6% in the second quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 37,839 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 5,672 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 202.8% in the first 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 acquiring an additional 3,869,617 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 30.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,571,902 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $18,554,000 after acquiring an additional 1,301,846 shares during the period. Finally, Teza Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Iovance Biotherapeutics in the first quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.03% of the company's stock.

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.