Iovance Biotherapeutics Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:IOVA)

Key Points

• Iovance Biotherapeutics saw unusually heavy options activity on Tuesday, with investors buying 13,815 call options, about 56% above the average daily volume.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the stock currently carries a consensus Hold rating, with an average target price of $8.43. Recent actions included a Weiss Ratings sell recommendation, a Truist upgrade to hold, and a Chardan price-target cut to $14.
• The company reported Q1 revenue of $71.43 million, up 44.9% year over year and in line with EPS expectations at -$0.19. IOVA traded at $5.24 on Tuesday, near its 52-week high of $5.63.

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOVA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 13,815 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 56% compared to the average daily volume of 8,882 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on IOVA shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Chardan Capital lowered their price target on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Iovance Biotherapeutics currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $8.43.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arcataur Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Granite Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Iovance Biotherapeutics in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 169.1% in the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 11,568 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 7,269 shares during the last quarter. 77.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Iovance Biotherapeutics Stock Performance

IOVA stock traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $5.24. 13,725,890 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,207,855. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $4.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a PE ratio of -5.51 and a beta of 0.70. Iovance Biotherapeutics has a 52 week low of $1.76 and a 52 week high of $5.63.

Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.19) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.19). The business had revenue of $71.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.84 million. Iovance Biotherapeutics had a negative return on equity of 50.17% and a negative net margin of 123.92%.The firm's revenue was up 44.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.36) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Iovance Biotherapeutics will post -0.62 EPS for the current fiscal 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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