Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA) Shares Climb 6.6% After Analyst Upgrade

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOVA)’s share price shot up 6.6% during 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 mid-day 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 brokerages have also weighed in on IOVA. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. HC Wainwright lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $15.00 target price for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Iovance Biotherapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.90.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iovance Biotherapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Iovance Biotherapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new position in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Ceera Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown purchased a new position in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $51,000. 77.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Iovance Biotherapeutics Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $6.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.27 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $9.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.76.

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

Iovance Biotherapeutics Company Profile

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.