IOVA - Iovance (IOVA) stock price could rocket higher ahead of earnings
2024-02-17 23:32:56 ET
Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ: IOVA) stock price has rebounded this year and is hovering at its highest point since October 2022. It has risen by over 120% as investors focus on the upcoming earnings report that is scheduled on Friday.
Iovance earnings ahead
I wrote about Iovance in December and warned that the stock would drop sharply before staging a strong rebound. This prediction happened after the FDA placed a hold on its trial for an experimental lung cancer therapy after a patient in the trial died. The hold meant that the company had to stop enrolling new patients to its TIL therapy tests.
IOVA stock jumped by more than 30% in the extended hours on Friday after a major report from the FDA. In it, the agency granted it an accelerated approval for its T-cell immunotherapy lifileucel, popularly known as Amtagvi, a drug that treats melanoma.
This approval is important because of the severity of melanoma in the United States. Estimates are that over 100k people are diagnosed with the disease, with the total number of patients estimated at over 1.4 million. Over 8,000 die of the disease each year. According to the government , this number of patients is growing.
Iovance plans to start manufacturing the drug in Philadelphia, where it will produce treatments for several thousands every year. In a statement, the interim president of the company, Frederick Vogt said:
“The accelerated approval of AMTAGVI™ is the first step in realizing Iovance’s ambition to usher in the next generation of cell therapy by bringing this breakthrough to patients with advanced solid tumors.”
The next important catalyst for the Iovance stock price will be its quarterly earnings set for Friday. In most cases, these results don’t move the stock as much because it does not have substantial earnings for now.
The most recent results revealed that the company was still incinerating cash as its net loss jumped to over $113 million, an increase from the previous $99.6 million. It lost $327 million in the first nine months of the year.
The most likely scenario is that the company raises cash later this year to fund its development. It ended the quarter with over $427 million in cash and investments. The management expected these funds, together with its Lifileucel and Proleukin to be enough to last until 2025.
IOVA stock price forecast
The weekly chart shows that the Iovance stock price bottomed at $3.16 in December after the clinical hold. It has now bounced back and closed at $9 on Friday and then surged to $12 in the extended hours. The shares have moved above the key resistance point at $9.20, the highest swing on May 22nd.
They also formed an inverse head and shoulders pattern and moved above the 50-week moving average. Therefore, the outlook for the shares is bullish, with the next point to watch being at the 23.6% Fibonacci Retracement point at $15.38. This price is about 25% above its post-hours closing level.
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