Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA) Trading 9.9% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOVA) shares traded up 9.9% during trading on Wednesday after Citizens Jmp upgraded the stock from a market perform rating to a market outperform rating. Citizens Jmp now has a $5.00 price target on the stock. Iovance Biotherapeutics traded as high as $4.13 and last traded at $4.11. 11,445,895 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the average session volume of 13,949,900 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.74.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on IOVA. Barclays upped their price target on Iovance Biotherapeutics from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $2.00 price target on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Chardan Capital lowered their target price on Iovance Biotherapeutics from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Iovance Biotherapeutics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.63.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 161.2% in the first 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 grew 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 last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 30.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,571,902 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $18,554,000 after buying an additional 1,301,846 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 202.8% in 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, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 112.1% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 47,466 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 25,083 shares in the last quarter. 77.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Iovance Biotherapeutics Price Performance

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.45. The stock has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.69 and a beta of 0.69.

Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.04. Iovance Biotherapeutics had a negative return on equity of 54.54% and a negative net margin of 148.41%.The business had revenue of $86.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.61 million. Research analysts predict that Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post -1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

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.