NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR – Get Rating) in a report issued on Thursday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the medical equipment provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on NVCR. HC Wainwright cut their target price on shares of NovoCure from $130.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an underweight rating and issued a $50.00 target price (down from $99.00) on shares of NovoCure in a research report on Friday, March 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of NovoCure from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and upped their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NovoCure currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $84.33.

NovoCure Price Performance

NVCR opened at $79.45 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $65.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 7.11 and a current ratio of 7.32. NovoCure has a one year low of $56.06 and a one year high of $120.03.

NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.50) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.36) by ($0.14). NovoCure had a negative return on equity of 32.03% and a negative net margin of 26.98%. The company had revenue of $122.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $127.93 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.04) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that NovoCure will post -1.97 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at NovoCure

In other NovoCure news, COO Wilhelmus Cm Groenhuysen sold 2,164 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total transaction of $165,243.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 184,615 shares in the company, valued at $14,097,201.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, COO Wilhelmus Cm Groenhuysen sold 2,164 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total transaction of $165,243.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 184,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,097,201.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ashley Cordova sold 2,198 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total transaction of $167,839.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 96,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,335,294.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,105 shares of company stock worth $621,533 over the last three months. Company insiders own 6.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NovoCure

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pictet Asset Management SA raised its stake in NovoCure by 1.5% in the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management SA now owns 39,965 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,036,000 after buying an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in NovoCure by 462.6% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,480 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $718,000 after buying an additional 7,795 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in NovoCure in the fourth quarter worth about $178,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in NovoCure by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 38,715 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,785,000 after buying an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in NovoCure by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 228,653 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $16,772,000 after buying an additional 19,246 shares in the last quarter. 78.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About NovoCure

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NovoCure Ltd. is an oncology company which engages in the development, manufacture, and commercialization of Optune for the treatment of a variety of solid tumors. Its platform is called the Tumor Treating Field which uses electric fields tuned to specific frequencies to disrupt solid tumor cancer cell division.