Vanguard Group Inc. Has $141.69 Million Position in NovoCure Limited $NVCR

Key Points

• Vanguard increased its NovoCure stake by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 10.96 million shares valued at about $141.69 million. Institutional investors now own a large majority of the company, at 84.61%.
• NovoCure’s latest quarterly results showed revenue of $174.06 million, up 12.3% year over year, but it still posted a wider-than-expected loss of $0.62 per share versus the consensus estimate of a $0.51 loss.
• Analysts remain mixed on the stock: the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $27.29, while recent insider activity included multiple share sales by executives, including COO Mukund Paravasthu.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NovoCure Limited (NASDAQ:NVCR - Free Report) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,958,209 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 502,368 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.79% of NovoCure worth $141,690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Soleus Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of NovoCure by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. Soleus Capital Management L.P. now owns 6,904,302 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $122,897,000 after buying an additional 1,382,888 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in NovoCure by 38.8% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,270,076 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $40,407,000 after acquiring an additional 634,925 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in NovoCure by 38.5% during the second quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 1,368,663 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $24,362,000 after purchasing an additional 380,411 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in NovoCure by 106.5% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,335,490 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $17,255,000 after purchasing an additional 688,710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Palo Alto Investors LP increased its position in shares of NovoCure by 30.5% during the 3rd quarter. Palo Alto Investors LP now owns 1,256,159 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $16,230,000 after purchasing an additional 293,763 shares during the last quarter. 84.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NovoCure Stock Up 1.2%

NVCR opened at $18.10 on Tuesday. 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 capitalization of $2.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.83 and a beta of 0.90. NovoCure Limited has a fifty-two week low of $9.82 and a fifty-two week high of $20.06. The company's 50-day moving average is $12.56 and its 200 day moving average is $12.55.

NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR - Get Free Report) 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 company had revenue of $174.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.77 million. NovoCure had a negative net margin of 25.66% and a negative return on equity of 50.82%. The firm's revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.31) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that NovoCure Limited will post -1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on NVCR shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of NovoCure in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. HC Wainwright lifted 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. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of NovoCure in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of NovoCure in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at NovoCure

In other news, COO Mukund Paravasthu sold 43,246 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.77, for a total value of $595,497.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 72,832 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,002,896.64. This trade represents a 37.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Uri Weinberg sold 6,412 shares of NovoCure 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 267,190 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,556,298.90. This trade represents a 2.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 140,041 shares of company stock valued at $1,860,116. Insiders own 5.52% 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.

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