NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR) Lowered to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of NovoCure from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of NovoCure in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of NovoCure in a research report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on NovoCure in a research note on Monday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $17.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on NovoCure from $13.50 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.60.

NovoCure Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:NVCR opened at $16.03 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.48 and a beta of 0.94. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $16.79 and its 200-day moving average is $13.97. NovoCure has a 1 year low of $9.82 and a 1 year high of $18.92.

NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR) last released its earnings results 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). The business 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.31) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that NovoCure will post -1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at NovoCure

In related news, Director W Anthony Vernon sold 2,945 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.77, for a total transaction of $46,442.65. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 197,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,117,050.89. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 dated 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 sale, the director directly owned 14,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $225,321.76. The trade was a 17.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 51,943 shares of company stock valued at $893,171 over the last three months. Insiders own 5.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NVCR. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of NovoCure by 56.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 28,728 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $512,000 after purchasing an additional 10,394 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in NovoCure by 3.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 74,992 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,336,000 after buying an additional 2,502 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in NovoCure by 5.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 993,670 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $17,707,000 after buying an additional 52,180 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in NovoCure in the first quarter worth about $87,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. bought a new stake in NovoCure in the second quarter worth about $216,000. 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.