Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA)

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOVA) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders purchased 27,681 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 364% compared to the average daily volume of 5,961 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IOVA. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 20,161,445 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,041,000 after buying an additional 6,851,486 shares in the last quarter. Palo Alto Investors LP increased its position in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 122.1% in the third quarter. Palo Alto Investors LP now owns 7,618,132 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $16,531,000 after buying an additional 4,188,803 shares during the last quarter. HRT Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 1,078.3% in the fourth quarter. HRT Financial LP now owns 4,356,010 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $11,891,000 after buying an additional 3,986,314 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 202.8% during the 1st 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 worth $19,239,000 after acquiring an additional 3,869,617 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,207,079 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $74,275,000 after acquiring an additional 3,148,096 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on IOVA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and set a $2.00 target price on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. HC Wainwright dropped their price objective on Iovance Biotherapeutics from $20.00 to $9.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Chardan Capital cut their price objective on Iovance Biotherapeutics from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.50.

Iovance Biotherapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IOVA traded up $0.85 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $3.74. 43,874,292 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,011,623. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.39. The company has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.11 and a beta of 0.76. Iovance Biotherapeutics has a 52 week low of $1.64 and a 52 week high of $5.64.

Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.04. Iovance Biotherapeutics had a negative return on equity of 55.24% and a negative net margin of 158.78%.The company had revenue of $86.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.61 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Iovance Biotherapeutics will post -1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Trending Headlines about Iovance Biotherapeutics

Here are the key news stories impacting Iovance Biotherapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Earnings beat: Iovance reported Q4 GAAP loss of $0.18/share vs. consensus -$0.22 and revenue of $86.8M vs. $81.6M, a near-term commercial execution signal that likely lifted sentiment. Iovance Biotherapeutics (IOVA) Reports Q4 Loss, Tops Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: New clinical data: positive pilot results for lifileucel in advanced soft tissue sarcomas (50% ORR in a small cohort) expand the addressable market and bolster the company’s clinical narrative. Iovance Announces Positive Results from the First Clinical Trial for TIL Cell Therapy in Soft Tissue Sarcomas
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity: traders bought ~27,681 call options (≈364% above average), indicating short-term bullish positioning that can amplify intraday moves.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and data-driven optimism: recent Amtagvi data has prompted positive coverage and at least one reiterated Buy with a $9 target, supporting upside narratives for adoption. Iovance (IOVA) Shares New Amtagvi Data, Analysts Stay Positive
• Neutral Sentiment: Pre-earnings previews and broader coverage highlighted catalysts and upcoming data but add limited new information beyond the items above. Iovance earnings on deck as Amtagvi data spurs adoption hopes
• Negative Sentiment: Financials remain a headwind: the company still posts deep losses and negative margins (net margin ~-158.8%, negative ROE), and consensus expects continued FY losses, which limits valuation until sustained commercial profitability or clear uptake is evident. Listen to Conference Call / Press Release

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.