Vanguard Group Inc. Cuts Stake in NovoCure Limited $NVCR

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of NovoCure Limited (NASDAQ:NVCR) by 4.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,251,497 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 544,612 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 10.09% of NovoCure worth $200,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NVCR. LPL Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NovoCure during the fourth quarter worth about $830,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in NovoCure during the 4th quarter valued at about $273,000. Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new stake in NovoCure during the 4th quarter valued at about $244,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in NovoCure by 72.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 189,474 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,646,000 after acquiring an additional 79,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in NovoCure during the 4th quarter valued at about $348,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

NovoCure Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NVCR opened at $12.07 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.74 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50-day moving average is $15.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.50. NovoCure Limited has a 1-year low of $10.87 and a 1-year high of $34.13.

NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.36) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.39) by $0.03. NovoCure had a negative net margin of 27.13% and a negative return on equity of 47.74%. The firm had revenue of $158.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $153.87 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.31) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that NovoCure Limited will post -1.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at NovoCure

In related news, CFO Christoph Brackmann acquired 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $11.59 per share, for a total transaction of $231,800.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 141,150 shares in the company, valued at $1,635,928.50. The trade was a 16.51% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVCR has been the subject of several research reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on shares of NovoCure in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of NovoCure from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of NovoCure in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $14.50 target price (down from $40.00) on shares of NovoCure in a report on Friday, July 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NovoCure presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.79.

NovoCure Company Profile

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.