IOVA - Iovance rises as Wall Street reacts to FDA priority review for melanoma drug
2023-05-30 12:08:19 ET
After sharp post-market gains in the previous session, Iovance Biotherapeutics ( NASDAQ: IOVA ) continued to trade higher Tuesday as Wall Street reacted to FDA’s decision to grant priority review for the company’s melanoma candidate lifileucel.
Wells Fargo analyst Yanan Zhu upgraded the stock to Overweight from Equal Weight, arguing that the acceptance of Iovances’ ( IOVA ) Biologics License Application (BLA) removes a key overhang for the stock.
Zhu also welcomed the agency’s decision not to conduct an advisory committee meeting to review lifileucel, a one-time cell therapy for advanced melanoma.
Raising the price target on IOVA to $17 from $11, the analyst argued that the decision to exclude an AdCom meeting suggests that the FDA is comfortable with lifileucel’s profile, “which we think bodes for the timely approval of the BLA.”
“We continue to be optimistic that the FDA and the company are on the same page,” Stifel analyst Benjamin Burnett, who has a Buy rating on IOVA, wrote as he raised the price target to $24 from $21.
“We think other cell therapy launches have dampened expectations for lifileucel, despite key differences,” Burnett added.
More on Iovance
- Iovance up 13% on completing Biologics License Application submission for lifileucel
- Iovance: Completion Of BLA Submission Brings Substantial Catalysts
For further details see:
Iovance rises as Wall Street reacts to FDA priority review for melanoma drug