Shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ: IOVA) were up in morning trading on Friday after top-rated Piper Sandler analyst Joseph Catanzaro upgraded the stock to a Buy from a Hold and raised the price target to $14 from $11. The analyst’s price target implies an upside potential of 71.4% at current levels.
Analyst Catanzaro pointed out that he expects IOVA to submit its marketing application for lifileucel this calendar quarter “without any further delays.”
Back in November, the biopharmaceutical company had decided to delay the rolling submission of its biologics license application (BLA) for lifileucel after the U.S. FDA requested additional information.
Catanzaro commented that IOVA’s marketing application had “a good likelihood of approval later this year and that the initial launch could surprise to the upside.”
Overall, analysts are bullish about IOVA stock with a Strong Buy consensus rating based on eight Buys and two Holds.
