NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR) Shares Down 7.4% – Should You Sell?

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVCR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of NovoCure in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on NovoCure from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company 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. Finally, Evercore restated 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 issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.29.

NovoCure Stock Performance

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 has a 50 day moving average price of $13.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of -11.08 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Insider Transactions at NovoCure

In related news, Chairman William F. Doyle sold 71,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.98, for a total value of $933,093.26. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 328,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,262,593.06. This represents a 17.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Christoph Brackmann sold 6,412 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.31, for a total value of $85,343.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 182,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,433,627.02. This represents a 3.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 140,041 shares of company stock valued at $1,860,116. 5.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in NovoCure in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in NovoCure during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NovoCure by 662.1% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 4,100 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 3,562 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of NovoCure by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,442 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,120 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of NovoCure in the first quarter worth approximately $87,000. 84.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.