Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA)

Key Points

• Unusually high options activity: Traders purchased 15,896 call options on Iovance Biotherapeutics, 64% above the average call volume of 9,706.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Five analysts rate the stock Buy, three Hold, and two Sell; the overall consensus is Hold with an average price target of $8.43.
• Shares and financial results strengthened: IOVA rose $1.63 to $5.97 on heavy trading volume, while quarterly revenue reached $198.63 million—well above expectations—and adjusted losses were narrower than forecast.

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOVA - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Traders purchased 15,896 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 64% compared to the average volume of 9,706 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on IOVA. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Chardan Capital lowered their price target on Iovance Biotherapeutics from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Iovance Biotherapeutics has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $8.43.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Iovance Biotherapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics stock traded up $1.63 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $5.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 32,090,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,203,536. Iovance Biotherapeutics has a 12-month low of $1.76 and a 12-month high of $6.39. The company has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a PE ratio of -6.33 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $4.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.75.

Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $198.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.83 million. Iovance Biotherapeutics had a negative net margin of 123.92% and a negative return on equity of 50.17%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 65.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.33) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Iovance Biotherapeutics will post -0.6 earnings per share for the current 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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