Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOVA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $5.64 and last traded at $5.28, with a volume of 1731287 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $5.48.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Iovance Biotherapeutics Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of -5.45 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $4.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.59.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Iovance Biotherapeutics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mirador Capital Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 100.9% in the 4th quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 1,034,544 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,824,000 after purchasing an additional 519,519 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 759,522 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,073,000 after buying an additional 152,312 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC grew its stake in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 149.7% during the 4th quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 260,660 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $712,000 after buying an additional 156,253 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,207,079 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $74,275,000 after buying an additional 3,148,096 shares during the period. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in Iovance Biotherapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $532,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.03% of the company’s stock.

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.