Iovance Biotherapeutics Analysts Set Target Price at $10.50

Shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOVA) currently hold a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from analysts, according to MarketBeat. This assessment comes from a total of fifteen ratings firms covering the biotechnology company. Analysts have issued two sell ratings, seven hold ratings, and six buy ratings for the stock. The average twelve-month target price among these brokers stands at $10.50.

Recent Analyst Ratings and Price Adjustments

Multiple analysts have recently provided updates on Iovance Biotherapeutics. On October 8, 2023, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating for the company. Subsequently, on August 8, 2023, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price from $18.00 to $14.00 while maintaining an “overweight” rating.

Similarly, Chardan Capital adjusted its target price from $20.00 to $17.00 on November 6, 2023, issuing a “buy” rating. On August 12, 2023, Zacks Research upgraded the stock to a “hold” rating. Lastly, Barclays increased their price target from $4.00 to $9.00 while also giving the company an “overweight” rating.

Financial Performance and Future Guidance

On November 6, 2023, Iovance Biotherapeutics reported its quarterly earnings, revealing a loss of ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS), which was an improvement over the consensus estimate of ($0.29) by $0.04. The company generated $67.46 million in revenue during this quarter, falling short of the anticipated $76.20 million estimate. The company recorded a negative net margin of 158.78% and a negative return on equity of 55.24%. Looking forward, Iovance Biotherapeutics has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS, with analysts predicting an EPS of ($1.24) for the current year.

Institutional Trading Activity

Recent changes in hedge fund positions reflect growing interest in Iovance Biotherapeutics. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake by 0.9% during the first quarter, now holding 27,777,778 shares valued at approximately $92.5 million after acquiring an additional 243,438 shares.

Additionally, Invenomic Capital Management LP boosted its stake by 27.1% in the third quarter, acquiring 2,246,945 shares, bringing its total to 10,541,608 shares valued at around $22.9 million. Long Focus Capital Management LLC saw an increase of 80.2% during the first quarter, now holding 9,250,055 shares worth about $30.8 million after purchasing an additional 4,118,055 shares.

Other notable increases include Palo Alto Investors LP, which raised its position by 122.1% in the third quarter, and Bank of America Corp DE, which increased its stake by 55.8% during the same period. Overall, institutional and hedge fund investors now own 77.03% of Iovance Biotherapeutics’ stock.

As a commercial-stage biotechnology company, Iovance Biotherapeutics focuses on developing and commercializing cell therapies with autologous tumor infiltrating lymphocytes for treating metastatic melanoma and other solid tumor cancers. The company’s offerings include Amtagvi, a treatment for unresectable or metastatic melanoma, and Proleukin, an interleukin-2 product for metastatic renal cell carcinoma.