NovoCure Limited (NASDAQ:NVCR) Short Interest Up 20.6% in April

NovoCure Limited (NASDAQ:NVCR) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,040,000 shares, an increase of 20.6% from the March 31st total of 5,010,000 shares. Currently, 6.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,270,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on NVCR shares. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of NovoCure from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of NovoCure from $49.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of NovoCure from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of NovoCure in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective (up from $25.00) on shares of NovoCure in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NovoCure presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at NovoCure

In other NovoCure news, COO Wilhelmus Cm Groenhuysen sold 2,107 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.03, for a total value of $33,775.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 252,452 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,046,805.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Frank X. Leonard sold 1,679 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was 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 $2,579,836.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Wilhelmus Cm Groenhuysen sold 2,107 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.03, for a total value of $33,775.21. Following the transaction, 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 a total of 7,921 shares of company stock valued at $127,161 over the last three months. 5.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NovoCure

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of NovoCure by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,759,098 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $145,703,000 after purchasing an additional 122,105 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of NovoCure in the fourth quarter worth approximately $14,543,000. Palo Alto Investors LP grew its holdings in shares of NovoCure by 14.2% during the third quarter. Palo Alto Investors LP now owns 660,275 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,663,000 after buying an additional 82,157 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of NovoCure by 807.8% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 616,792 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,209,000 after buying an additional 548,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of NovoCure by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 551,775 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,238,000 after acquiring an additional 10,510 shares in the last quarter. 84.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NovoCure Price Performance

Shares of NovoCure stock opened at $12.24 on Wednesday. NovoCure has a 1 year low of $10.87 and a 1 year high of $83.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $14.29 and a 200 day moving average of $13.88. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.45) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.53) by $0.08. The business had revenue of $133.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $133.80 million. NovoCure had a negative net margin of 40.65% and a negative return on equity of 51.63%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.36) earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that NovoCure will post -1.78 EPS 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.