NovoCure Limited $NVCR Shares Bought by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc increased its NovoCure stake by 65.6% in the fourth quarter, ending with 406,664 shares valued at about $5.26 million. Institutional investors still own a large majority of the company, at roughly 84.61%.
• Two NovoCure directors, Allyson J. Ocean and Jeryl L. Hilleman, each sold 2,945 shares at $15.77 per share, with the trades made to cover tax withholding tied to equity award vesting. Insiders have sold 51,943 shares worth $893,171 over the past 90 days.
• NovoCure reported quarterly earnings of -$0.62 per share, missing estimates, though revenue of $174.06 million topped expectations and rose 12.3% year over year. The stock opened at $17.16, and analysts currently hold a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $27.29.

Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in NovoCure Limited (NASDAQ:NVCR - Free Report) by 65.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 406,664 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 161,095 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.36% of NovoCure worth $5,258,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NVCR. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in NovoCure by 662.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in NovoCure by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,442 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,120 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in NovoCure in the 1st quarter valued at about $87,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of NovoCure in the 2nd quarter valued at about $88,000. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury purchased a new position in shares of NovoCure in the 2nd quarter valued at about $129,000. 84.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other NovoCure news, Director Allyson J. Ocean sold 2,945 shares of the business'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 value of $46,442.65. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $178,579.48. The trade was a 20.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Jeryl L. Hilleman sold 2,945 shares of the business'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 value of $46,442.65. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $218,587.97. This represents a 17.52% 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. Insiders have sold 51,943 shares of company stock valued at $893,171 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 5.52% of the company's stock.

NovoCure Price Performance

NVCR stock opened at $17.16 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $14.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.23. The stock has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.22 and a beta of 0.93. NovoCure Limited has a fifty-two week low of $9.82 and a fifty-two week high of $19.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.70, a current ratio of 2.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.31) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that NovoCure Limited will post -1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NVCR. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of NovoCure in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of NovoCure in a research note on Friday, May 1st. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on NovoCure from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on NovoCure from $13.50 to $17.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded NovoCure from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NovoCure has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.29.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NVCR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for NovoCure Limited (NASDAQ:NVCR - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.