This Beaten-Down Growth Stock Could Soar 165%, According to Wall Street

Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ: IOVA) has performed well this year, with its shares up 34% to date as of writing. Zooming out gives a different picture, though. The stock has lost nearly 90% of its value over the past five years. Could Iovance Biotherapeutics sustain the run it has had so far in 2026? Judging by the stock's average price target of $9 (according to Yahoo! Finance) -- implying a potential upside of 165% from its current level -- Wall Street analysts certainly have high hopes for the biotech. Let's find out whether Iovance Biotherapeutics can match The Street's target over the next 12 months.

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Potential catalysts on the horizon

Iovance Biotherapeutics focuses on developing cancer medicines. The company's most important product is Amtagvi, which is approved for the treatment of melanoma. Amtagvi is helping Iovance Biotherapeutics post strong top-line growth. In 2025, the company's total revenue was $263.5 million, an increase of almost 61% compared to 2024. Iovance Biotherapeutics is still looking at a vast worldwide opportunity for Amtagvi in melanoma, which causes about 59,000 annual deaths worldwide (including 8,000 in the U.S.).

The medicine earned approval in Canada last year. Iovance Biotherapeutics is looking to launch it in other markets, including Europe and Australia. Considering how quickly the medicine's sales have grown -- mostly due to its progress in the U.S. -- these additional regions could help Amtagvi generate over $1 billion in annual sales within a few years. Further, Iovance Biotherapeutics will seek to expand Amtagvi's indications. The company is targeting lung cancer, which represents a much bigger opportunity than melanoma.

Provided clinical trials for lifileucel (the active ingredient in Amtagvi) go as planned -- and it can secure regulatory approval -- Iovance Biotherapeutics could launch the medicine in lung cancer in 2027.

Some reasons to worry

Iovance Biotherapeutics' performance over the next year will depend on whether it can post strong clinical trial results for lifileucel while expanding Amtagvi's addressable market by entering new regions. The stock could soar if it can execute its strategy with near perfection. But as is usually the case with biotech stocks, the company's shares will fall off a cliff if it fails to reach certain milestones in the next 12 months. There is an additional risk with Iovance Biotherapeutics.

The company develops tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapies that are manufactured from patients' own cells (which means they can't be manufactured at scale) and are complex to administer. On top of that, they tend to be expensive. Between pushback from third-party payers and some physicians, and the expensive infrastructure required for the commercial rollout of these medicines, Iovance Biotherapeutics faces significant hurdles.

The company will have to address that problem if it ever hopes to turn a profit, and it might take a while to get there. Given all that, my view is that Iovance Biotherapeutics is unlikely to reach $9 in the next year and even less likely to deliver outstanding returns over the medium term.

Prosper Junior Bakiny 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.