Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA) Trading Up 6.8% – Still a Buy?

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOVA)’s stock price was up 6.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $4.25 and last traded at $4.1980. 18,721,570 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 26% from the average session volume of 14,846,433 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.93.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IOVA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Chardan Capital lowered their price target on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded Iovance Biotherapeutics to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Iovance Biotherapeutics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.43.

Iovance Biotherapeutics Stock Up 13.1%

The company has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a PE ratio of -4.68 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $3.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.51.

Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19). Iovance Biotherapeutics had a negative net margin of 123.92% and a negative return on equity of 50.17%. The business had revenue of $71.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.84 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.36) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 44.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post -0.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

About Iovance Biotherapeutics

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.