NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR) CEO Frank Leonard Sells 34,273 Shares

NovoCure Limited (NASDAQ:NVCR) CEO Frank Leonard sold 34,273 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.93, for a total value of $614,514.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 459,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,239,193.60. The trade was a 6.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

NovoCure Stock Performance

NVCR traded down $0.83 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $17.16. 2,138,238 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,783,299. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 2.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. NovoCure Limited has a 1-year low of $9.82 and a 1-year high of $19.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.22 and a beta of 0.93.

NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.62) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.51) by ($0.11). NovoCure had a negative return on equity of 50.82% and a negative net margin of 25.66%.The firm had revenue of $174.06 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.77 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.31) earnings per share. NovoCure’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that NovoCure Limited will post -1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVCR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of NovoCure in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on NovoCure from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of NovoCure from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Monday. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of NovoCure in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of NovoCure from $13.50 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.29.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NovoCure

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NVCR. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of NovoCure by 453.4% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,069,895 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $65,554,000 after buying an additional 4,153,741 shares during the period. Soleus Capital Management L.P. raised its position in NovoCure by 25.0% during the second quarter. Soleus Capital Management L.P. now owns 6,904,302 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $122,897,000 after acquiring an additional 1,382,888 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in shares of NovoCure by 1,093.2% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,223,755 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $15,823,000 after acquiring an additional 1,121,192 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of NovoCure by 346.7% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,245,541 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $13,576,000 after purchasing an additional 966,735 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of NovoCure during the 4th quarter worth about $11,991,000. 84.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About NovoCure

NovoCure is a global oncology company pioneering Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields), a novel anti-mitotic therapy for solid tumors. The company’s non-invasive treatment platforms deliver low-intensity, alternating electric fields designed to disrupt cancer cell division. NovoCure’s approach offers an alternative modality to complement existing therapies in oncology, with a focus on hard-to-treat malignancies.

Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Haifa, Israel, NovoCure maintains a second operational center in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.