NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR) Trading Up 4.8% Following Analyst Upgrade

NovoCure Limited (NASDAQ:NVCR) rose 4.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday after HC Wainwright raised their price target on the stock from $22.00 to $24.00. HC Wainwright currently has a neutral rating on the stock. NovoCure traded as high as $15.36 and last traded at $15.35. Approximately 186,158 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 1,363,427 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.64.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on NVCR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on NovoCure from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of NovoCure in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of NovoCure from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NovoCure currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Frank X. Leonard sold 1,679 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.03, for a total transaction of $26,914.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 160,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,579,836.14. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Frank X. Leonard sold 1,679 shares of NovoCure stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.03, for a total value of $26,914.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 160,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,579,836.14. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Wilhelmus Cm Groenhuysen sold 2,107 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.03, for a total transaction of $33,775.21. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 252,452 shares in the company, valued at $4,046,805.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,921 shares of company stock valued at $127,161 in the last three months. 5.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NovoCure

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in NovoCure in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of NovoCure by 47.0% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,292 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NovoCure by 166.3% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. bought a new position in NovoCure during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in NovoCure in the first quarter worth about $211,000. 84.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NovoCure Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $14.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.46. The company has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a PE ratio of -8.15 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 5.56 and a current ratio of 5.78.

NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.45) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $133.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $133.80 million. NovoCure had a negative return on equity of 51.63% and a negative net margin of 40.65%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.36) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that NovoCure Limited will post -1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About NovoCure

NovoCure Limited, an oncology company, engages in the development, manufacture, and commercialization of tumor treating fields (TTFields) devices for the treatment of solid tumor cancers in the United States, Germany, Japan, Greater China, and internationally. The company's TTFields devices include Optune Gio and Optune Lua.