Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA) Shares Up 6.6% on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Iovance Biotherapeutics shares rose 6.6% after Robert W. Baird increased its price target from $6 to $11, although it maintained a neutral rating. The stock traded as high as $13.85, above the analyst consensus target of $12.90.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with nine Buy ratings, three Holds and one Sell, giving the company a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy.” HC Wainwright has the highest cited target at $20.
• Institutional investors own approximately 77% of IOVA’s shares, while recent quarterly results showed revenue growth of 65.7% year over year to $99.31 million and an EPS loss of $0.11, better than estimates.

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOVA - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 6.6% during mid-day trading on Friday after Robert W. Baird raised their price target on the stock from $6.00 to $11.00. Robert W. Baird currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Iovance Biotherapeutics traded as high as $13.85 and last traded at $14.1930. 1,650,263 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 15,786,811 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.31.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Citigroup restated 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 Tuesday, September 29th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Iovance Biotherapeutics from $4.00 to $7.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics from $9.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Citizens Jmp lifted their target price on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics from $5.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $12.90.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IOVA. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 65.8% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,987 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $133,000 after buying an additional 3,565 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 5.4% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 32,957 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 1,691 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in shares of 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 during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its holdings in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 76.5% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 190,035 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $791,000 after purchasing an additional 82,338 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Iovance Biotherapeutics in the second quarter valued at $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.03% of the company's stock.

Iovance Biotherapeutics Stock Up 4.9%

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $9.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.27 and a beta of 0.76.

Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.02. Iovance Biotherapeutics had a negative net margin of 89.11% and a negative return on equity of 40.51%. The company had revenue of $99.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.83 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.33) EPS. The business's revenue was up 65.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post -0.45 earnings per share for the current year.

About Iovance Biotherapeutics

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

Iovance'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 with a PD-1-blocking antibody and, when applicable, a BRAF-targeted therapy.

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