NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

NovoCure Limited (NASDAQ:NVCR - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $49.00 to $42.00. The stock had previously closed at $14.39, but opened at $14.08. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. NovoCure shares last traded at $14.21, with a volume of 77,702 shares.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on NovoCure from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on NovoCure from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on NovoCure from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of NovoCure in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $33.25.

Insider Activity at NovoCure

In related news, COO Wilhelmus Cm Groenhuysen sold 2,107 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.03, for a total value of $33,775.21. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 252,452 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,046,805.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, COO Wilhelmus Cm Groenhuysen sold 2,107 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.03, for a total transaction of $33,775.21. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 252,452 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,046,805.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Frank X. Leonard sold 2,078 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.14, for a total value of $33,538.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 162,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,624,638.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,921 shares of company stock worth $127,161 in the last ninety days. 5.67% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of NovoCure

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of NovoCure during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in NovoCure by 47.0% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,292 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in NovoCure by 166.3% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. acquired a new stake in NovoCure in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NovoCure in the first quarter valued at about $211,000. 84.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NovoCure Stock Up 0.2 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $15.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.39 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 5.56, a current ratio of 5.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.45) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by $0.08. The business had revenue of $133.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $133.80 million. NovoCure had a negative return on equity of 51.63% and a negative net margin of 40.65%. NovoCure's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.36) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that NovoCure Limited will post -1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NovoCure Company Profile

NovoCure Limited, an oncology company, engages in the development, manufacture, and commercialization of tumor treating fields (TTFields) devices for the treatment of solid tumor cancers in the United States, Germany, Japan, Greater China, and internationally. The company's TTFields devices include Optune Gio and Optune Lua.