Iovance Biotherapeutics Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:IOVA)

Key Points

• Iovance Biotherapeutics experienced a significant increase in options trading, with 21,102 call options purchased on Monday, marking a 159% rise from typical volumes.
• Multiple institutional investors have recently increased their stakes in Iovance Biotherapeutics, which now has over 77% of its stock owned by institutional investors.
• According to analyst ratings, Iovance currently holds an average rating of "Hold" with a consensus price target of $10.80, despite mixed reviews from financial analysts.

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOVA - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors purchased 21,102 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 159% compared to the typical volume of 8,163 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iovance Biotherapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IOVA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 0.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,777,778 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $92,500,000 after purchasing an additional 243,438 shares during the period. Long Focus Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 80.2% during the first quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 9,250,055 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $30,803,000 after purchasing an additional 4,118,055 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 3.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,189,058 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $10,646,000 after purchasing an additional 220,760 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 202.8% during 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 valued at $19,239,000 after purchasing an additional 3,869,617 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 30.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,571,902 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $18,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,301,846 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IOVA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Chardan Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright dropped their price target on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics from $20.00 to $9.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Iovance Biotherapeutics has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $10.80.

Iovance Biotherapeutics Price Performance

Shares of IOVA traded down $0.02 on Monday, reaching $1.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 50,906,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,334,543. The stock has a market capitalization of $705.62 million, a P/E ratio of -1.59 and a beta of 0.83. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $2.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.31. Iovance Biotherapeutics has a 12-month low of $1.64 and a 12-month high of $12.51.

Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.29) by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $59.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $67.14 million. Iovance Biotherapeutics had a negative return on equity of 52.87% and a negative net margin of 161.44%. Iovance Biotherapeutics has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts expect that Iovance Biotherapeutics will post -1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.