NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR) Shares Down 7.4% – Time to Sell?

NovoCure Limited (NASDAQ:NVCR)’s share price was down 7.4% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $16.91 and last traded at $16.9080. Approximately 578,361 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 1,782,122 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on NVCR shares. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of NovoCure in a report on Friday, May 1st. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of NovoCure from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of NovoCure in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of NovoCure in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of NovoCure from $13.50 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.29.

NovoCure Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.12 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 2.70 and a current ratio of 2.90. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.00.

NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.62) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.51) by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $174.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.77 million. NovoCure had a negative return on equity of 50.82% and a negative net margin of 25.66%.The firm’s revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.31) EPS. Analysts forecast that NovoCure Limited will post -1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at NovoCure

In other news, insider Uri Weinberg sold 6,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.31, for a total transaction of $85,343.72. Following the transaction, the insider owned 267,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,556,298.90. The trade was a 2.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Christoph Brackmann sold 6,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.31, for a total transaction of $85,343.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 182,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,433,627.02. The trade was a 3.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 140,041 shares of company stock worth $1,860,116. Insiders own 5.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in NovoCure by 163.6% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 195,515 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,526,000 after acquiring an additional 121,354 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC increased its stake in NovoCure by 372.2% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 682,858 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,823,000 after acquiring an additional 538,235 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in NovoCure by 104.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 282,184 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,646,000 after acquiring an additional 144,024 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL increased its stake in NovoCure by 140.6% in 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. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in NovoCure by 18.3% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,218,807 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $15,747,000 after acquiring an additional 188,933 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.