Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOVA) Shares Sold by Long Focus Capital Management LLC

Long Focus Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOVA) by 40.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,224,384 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 837,430 shares during the period. Iovance Biotherapeutics makes up about 0.8% of Long Focus Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Long Focus Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.55% of Iovance Biotherapeutics worth $7,481,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IOVA. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 17.6% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,017 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 2,099 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 71.8% during the first quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 1,085,121 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $18,067,000 after acquiring an additional 453,337 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics by 53.3% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 15,386 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 5,350 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 6.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,772,007 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,504,000 after purchasing an additional 104,913 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Iovance Biotherapeutics by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC now owns 17,538 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,838 shares in the last quarter. 81.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on IOVA shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised Iovance Biotherapeutics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $11.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics from $21.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 30th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 price target on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. Finally, Chardan Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, August 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.55.

Iovance Biotherapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ IOVA traded down $0.20 on Wednesday, hitting $5.84. The stock had a trading volume of 1,413,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,703,936. The company’s 50-day moving average is $7.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.01. Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $5.28 and a one year high of $11.88.

Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:IOVA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.47) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.81) by $0.34. The business had revenue of $0.24 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.91 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.63) earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post -1.87 EPS for the current year.

About Iovance Biotherapeutics

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, focuses on developing and commercializing cancer immunotherapy products to harness the power of a patient's immune system to eradicate cancer cells. The company's lead product candidate is lifileucel that is in Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of metastatic melanoma and cervical cancer.