NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR) Given New $52.00 Price Target at HC Wainwright

Key Points

• HC Wainwright raised NovoCure’s price target from $46 to $52 and kept a buy rating, implying significant upside from the prior close.
• Recent analyst views are mixed: while some firms remain positive, the overall consensus rating is Hold with an average target price of $24.80.
• NovoCure reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of -$0.13 versus estimates of -$0.33 and revenue of $183.58 million, up 15.6% year over year.

NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by HC Wainwright from $46.00 to $52.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the medical equipment provider's stock. HC Wainwright's target price indicates a potential upside of 161.53% from the company's previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on NVCR. Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of NovoCure in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on NovoCure from $13.50 to $17.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research cut NovoCure from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings raised NovoCure from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of NovoCure in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $24.80.

NovoCure Price Performance

NovoCure stock traded up $4.31 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $19.88. The company had a trading volume of 5,471,257 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,761,719. NovoCure has a 1 year low of $9.82 and a 1 year high of $20.55. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.00 and a beta of 0.94. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $16.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.07.

NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.33) by $0.20. NovoCure had a negative return on equity of 50.82% and a negative net margin of 25.66%.The business had revenue of $183.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.44 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.36) EPS. The business's revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that NovoCure will post -1.52 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NovoCure news, Director Jeryl L. Hilleman sold 2,945 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director directly owned 13,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at $218,587.97. This represents a 17.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director W Anthony Vernon sold 2,945 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director directly owned 197,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,117,050.89. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 51,943 shares of company stock valued at $893,171. Corporate insiders own 5.52% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of NVCR. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in NovoCure by 453.4% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,069,895 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $65,554,000 after purchasing an additional 4,153,741 shares during the last quarter. Soleus Capital Management L.P. grew its position in NovoCure by 25.0% in the second 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. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in NovoCure by 1,093.2% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,223,755 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $15,823,000 after buying an additional 1,121,192 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of NovoCure by 346.7% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,245,541 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $13,576,000 after buying an additional 966,735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of NovoCure in the fourth quarter valued at $11,991,000. 84.61% of the stock is currently 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.

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