NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on NVCR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of NovoCure in a report on Monday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $17.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 price objective (down from $48.00) on shares of NovoCure in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of NovoCure in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised NovoCure from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.60.

NovoCure Price Performance

NASDAQ NVCR opened at $16.42 on Tuesday. NovoCure has a 52 week low of $9.82 and a 52 week high of $18.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.73 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 2.70, a current ratio of 2.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $16.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.99.

NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.62) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.51) by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $174.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.77 million. NovoCure had a negative return on equity of 50.82% and a negative net margin of 25.66%.NovoCure’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.31) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that NovoCure will post -1.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at NovoCure

In other NovoCure news, CEO Frank X. Leonard sold 34,273 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.93, for a total transaction of $614,514.89. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 459,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,239,193.60. This trade represents a 6.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Timothy J. Scannell sold 2,945 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.77, for a total transaction of $46,442.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $225,321.76. The trade was a 17.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 51,943 shares of company stock worth $893,171 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 5.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in NovoCure by 104.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 282,184 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,646,000 after buying an additional 144,024 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its holdings in NovoCure by 140.6% during the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 606,070 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,830,000 after acquiring an additional 354,216 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of NovoCure by 905.6% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 278,806 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,605,000 after acquiring an additional 251,082 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of NovoCure by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,958,209 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $141,690,000 after acquiring an additional 502,368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of NovoCure by 65.6% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 406,664 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $5,258,000 after acquiring an additional 161,095 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

NovoCure Company Profile

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.