NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR) Stock Price Up 8.2% – Here’s What Happened

NovoCure Limited (NASDAQ:NVCR)’s stock price rose 8.2% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $17.17 and last traded at $17.4710. Approximately 99,429 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 94% from the average daily volume of 1,759,140 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.15.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on NVCR shares. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on NovoCure from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of NovoCure in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on NovoCure from $13.50 to $17.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings raised NovoCure from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of NovoCure in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.29.

NovoCure Trading Up 10.6%

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $14.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.90 and a quick ratio of 2.70. The firm has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a PE ratio of -11.63 and a beta of 0.93.

NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.62) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.51) by ($0.11). NovoCure had a negative net margin of 25.66% and a negative return on equity of 50.82%. The business had revenue of $174.06 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.77 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.31) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that NovoCure Limited will post -1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at NovoCure

In related news, Director Kristin Stafford sold 2,945 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.77, for a total transaction of $46,442.65. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $178,579.48. This represents a 20.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a 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 W Anthony Vernon sold 2,945 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.77, for a total transaction of $46,442.65. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 197,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,117,050.89. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,670 shares of company stock valued at $278,656. 5.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of NovoCure

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVCR. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in NovoCure by 453.4% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,069,895 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $65,554,000 after acquiring an additional 4,153,741 shares in the last quarter. Soleus Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in NovoCure by 25.0% in the second quarter. Soleus Capital Management L.P. now owns 6,904,302 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $122,897,000 after acquiring an additional 1,382,888 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in NovoCure by 1,093.2% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,223,755 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $15,823,000 after acquiring an additional 1,121,192 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in NovoCure by 346.7% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,245,541 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,576,000 after acquiring an additional 966,735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in NovoCure in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,991,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

About NovoCure

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.