Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA) Shares Up 7.7% – Here’s What Happened

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOVA) shares rose 7.7% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $7.99 and last traded at $7.97. Approximately 2,429,683 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 7,189,960 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.40.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IOVA has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group began coverage on Iovance Biotherapeutics in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $17.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Iovance Biotherapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.25 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50-day moving average is $9.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.26.

Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.28) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.31) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $58.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $53.54 million. Iovance Biotherapeutics had a negative net margin of 451.25% and a negative return on equity of 58.43%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.46) EPS. On average, analysts expect that Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post -1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Iovance Biotherapeutics

In related news, Director Ryan D. Maynard sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.06, for a total transaction of $503,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,450. This trade represents a 86.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 12.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Iovance Biotherapeutics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 24.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,034,760 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $8,299,000 after buying an additional 200,536 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 26.4% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,536,243 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $20,341,000 after acquiring an additional 530,338 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 3.8% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 54,734 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $439,000 after acquiring an additional 1,985 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics during the second quarter worth $193,000. Finally, Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 155.8% during the second quarter. Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC now owns 58,580 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 35,680 shares during the period. 77.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Iovance Biotherapeutics Company Profile

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc, a commercial-stage biotechnology company, develops and commercializes cell therapies using autologous tumor infiltrating lymphocyte for the treatment of metastatic melanoma and other solid tumor cancers in the United States. The company offers Amtagvi, a tumor-derived autologous T cell immunotherapy used to treat adult patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma; and Proleukin, an interleukin-2 product for the treatment of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma.