Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA) Trading 7.4% Higher – Still a Buy?

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOVA)’s share price was up 7.4% on Monday . The company traded as high as $2.80 and last traded at $2.8350. Approximately 5,644,270 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 12,322,397 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.64.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on IOVA shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Chardan Capital dropped their price objective on Iovance Biotherapeutics from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. HC Wainwright reduced their target price on Iovance Biotherapeutics from $20.00 to $9.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Iovance Biotherapeutics from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Iovance Biotherapeutics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.10.

Iovance Biotherapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $2.46 and a 200 day moving average of $2.38. The firm has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.41 and a beta of 0.77.

Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.29) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $67.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $76.20 million. Iovance Biotherapeutics had a negative return on equity of 55.24% and a negative net margin of 158.78%. On average, research analysts predict that Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post -1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 161.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 522,887 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,740,000 after acquiring an additional 322,680 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 279.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 59,540 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 43,829 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 30.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,571,902 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $18,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,301,846 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 202.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,777,344 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $19,239,000 after buying an additional 3,869,617 shares during the period. Finally, Grimes & Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 17.6% during the second quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 37,839 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 5,672 shares during the last quarter. 77.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.