Iovance Biotherapeutics Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:IOVA)

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOVA) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors purchased 21,357 call options on the company. This is an increase of 75% compared to the typical daily volume of 12,229 call options.

Iovance Biotherapeutics Price Performance

Shares of IOVA opened at $10.25 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.04 and a beta of 0.83. Iovance Biotherapeutics has a one year low of $1.76 and a one year high of $10.98. The business has a fifty day moving average of $6.88 and a 200 day moving average of $4.94.

Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $99.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.83 million. Iovance Biotherapeutics had a negative return on equity of 40.51% and a negative net margin of 89.11%.Iovance Biotherapeutics’s revenue was up 65.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.33) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Iovance Biotherapeutics will post -0.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Citizens Jmp increased their price objective on Iovance Biotherapeutics from $5.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Iovance Biotherapeutics from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics from $4.00 to $7.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.11.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Iovance Biotherapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in the second quarter worth approximately $153,744,000. Invenomic Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 11,959,505 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $32,649,000 after buying an additional 1,417,897 shares during the last quarter. Palo Alto Investors LP purchased a new stake in Iovance Biotherapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $22,032,229. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Iovance Biotherapeutics in the second quarter worth approximately $20,773,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 71.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,645,702 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $9,282,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106,592 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.03% of the company’s stock.

Iovance Biotherapeutics Company Profile

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing individualized cell therapies for patients with cancer. Its platform uses tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), immune cells collected from a patient’s tumor, expanded in a manufacturing facility and returned to the patient to help recognize and attack cancer cells.

The company’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.