Why Iovance Biotherapeutics Stock Zoomed More Than 5% Higher Today

Now this is a fine way for a stock to greet the new year. On the back of a glowing analyst recommendation, Iovance Biotherapeutics's (NASDAQ: IOVA) shares closed Thursday more than 5% higher in price. That compared most favorably with the S&P 500 index, which landed in negative territory with a slight (0.2%) drop on the day.

Top of the heap

The entity delivering the good news was financial services company Stifel, whose analyst Benjamin Burnett tagged Iovance as its top stock pick in the biotech sector for 2025. Almost needless to say, Burnett reiterated his buy recommendation on the shares.

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The pundit's very bullish view of Iovance, according to reports, is based largely on the continuing popularity of its cancer drug Amtagvi, which was approved less than a year ago by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In Burnett's opinion, there is extremely limited competition for Amtagvi in the treatment of late-line melanoma. As such, its sales will need to grow only modestly in order for the company to meet its revenue guidance.

Burnett also waxed bullish about another Iovance cancer drug, metastatic renal cell carcinoma treatment Proleukin. He feels that this is something of a sleeper product that could end up contributing more to the biotech company's top line in the second half of this year.

A high-demand segment of the market

Iovance is unarguably on a roll these days, especially with the high demand-from-the-outset Amtagvi. The company now has to be considered one of the top biotech cancer drug plays, and since this is a perennially popular market segment, investors can count on the stock maintaining its popularity in the coming months.

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Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Iovance Biotherapeutics. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.