NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

NovoCure Limited (NASDAQ:NVCR)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after HC Wainwright raised their price target on the stock from $22.00 to $24.00. The stock had previously closed at $13.07, but opened at $14.78. HC Wainwright currently has a neutral rating on the stock. NovoCure shares last traded at $14.60, with a volume of 5,173,546 shares.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of NovoCure

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. purchased a new stake in shares of NovoCure in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in NovoCure during the second quarter worth $29,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in NovoCure by 96.8% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,739 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 1,347 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in NovoCure by 46.1% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,737 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 1,179 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in NovoCure by 127.9% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,891 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 2,184 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

NovoCure Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $14.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.46. The company has a current ratio of 5.78, a quick ratio of 5.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

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