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

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Traders purchased 21,357 Iovance call options, 75% above the average volume of 12,229 contracts.
• Stock performance and earnings: Shares rose to $10.03 on heavy volume and remain near their 12-month high. The company beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, with revenue up 65.7% year over year, though it remains unprofitable.
• Investor and analyst sentiment: Institutional investors own 77.03% of the stock, while analyst opinions are mixed. The consensus rating is “Hold,” with an average price target of $9.11, despite some analysts assigning “Outperform” ratings and targets as high as $11.

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOVA - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 21,357 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 75% compared to the average volume of 12,229 call options.

Iovance Biotherapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IOVA traded up $0.15 on Thursday, hitting $10.03. The stock had a trading volume of 19,755,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,486,382. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $6.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.86. Iovance Biotherapeutics has a twelve month low of $1.76 and a twelve month high of $10.98. The company has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.77 and a beta of 0.83.

Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $99.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.83 million. Iovance Biotherapeutics had a negative net margin of 89.11% and a negative return on equity of 40.51%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 65.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.33) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Iovance Biotherapeutics will post -0.49 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iovance Biotherapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 5.4% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 32,957 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 1,691 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 52.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 280,048 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,165,000 after buying an additional 95,933 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its position in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 76.5% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 190,035 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $791,000 after buying an additional 82,338 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Iovance Biotherapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 222,340 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $925,000 after acquiring an additional 23,800 shares during the last quarter. 77.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics from $4.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Robert W. Baird set a $6.00 price objective on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in a report on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $9.11.

About Iovance Biotherapeutics

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing individualized cell therapies for patients with cancer. Its platform uses tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), immune cells collected from a patient's tumor, expanded in a manufacturing facility and returned to the patient to help recognize and attack cancer cells.

The company's lead product, Amtagvi (lifileucel), is an autologous TIL therapy approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for certain adults with unresectable or metastatic melanoma that has progressed following prior treatment.

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