Inovio Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:INO) Share Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• Inovio Pharmaceuticals shares crossed above their 200-day moving average, trading as high as $1.27 and last changing hands at $1.24, compared with the $1.23 average.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans positive: the stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $3.17 price target, with recent upgrades from Jefferies, Zacks Research and Wall Street Zen.
• Inovio reported a quarterly loss of $0.07 per share, beating the $0.22 loss consensus estimate, while institutional investors own approximately 26.79% of the company.

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:INO - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $1.23 and traded as high as $1.27. Inovio Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $1.24, with a volume of 2,889,868 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on INO shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Inovio Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "positive" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $1.80 to $3.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Inovio Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Zacks Research raised shares of Inovio Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Inovio Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Inovio Pharmaceuticals from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $3.17.

Inovio Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $1.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.23. The firm has a market cap of $128.22 million, a PE ratio of -1.36 and a beta of 1.63.

Inovio Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:INO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.15. As a group, analysts anticipate that Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Inovio Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eversept Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Inovio Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth about $1,802,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Inovio Pharmaceuticals by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 643,777 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,120,000 after buying an additional 90,613 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its holdings in shares of Inovio Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 459,828 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $800,000 after buying an additional 16,724 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in Inovio Pharmaceuticals by 1,929.4% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 48,948 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 46,536 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in Inovio Pharmaceuticals by 46.5% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 36,391 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 11,554 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.79% of the company's stock.

Inovio Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on developing DNA medicines designed to treat and prevent serious diseases. Its platform uses synthetic DNA plasmids to instruct cells to produce targeted proteins, with delivery supported by its CELLECTRA electroporation devices. The company's research has included candidates for cancer, infectious diseases and human papillomavirus (HPV)-related conditions.

Inovio's pipeline has included INO-3107, an investigational DNA immunotherapy for recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, a rare disease caused by HPV, as well as other development programs targeting cancers and infectious diseases.

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