NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR) Shares Gap Up on Insider Buying Activity

Key Points

• NovoCure's CEO Ashley Cordova purchased 81,550 shares on September 5th at $12.22 each, marking a 22.91% increase in her ownership.
• The company's stock opened significantly higher, from a previous close of $12.28 to $13.65, and last traded at $13.03, indicating a 4.9% increase in value.
• Equities research analysts largely favor NovoCure, with an average target price of $28.79 and multiple ratings of "Buy" and "Hold".

NovoCure Limited (NASDAQ:NVCR - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Monday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $12.28, but opened at $13.65. NovoCure shares last traded at $13.03, with a volume of 543,802 shares.

Specifically, CEO Ashley Cordova bought 81,550 shares of NovoCure stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $12.22 per share, with a total value of $996,541.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 437,569 shares in the company, valued at $5,347,093.18. The trade was a 22.91% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on NVCR shares. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of NovoCure in a report on Friday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $14.50 target price (down previously from $40.00) on shares of NovoCure in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on NovoCure in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $28.79.

NovoCure Stock Up 4.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.45. The company has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a PE ratio of -8.36 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.52.

NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.36) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.39) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $158.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $153.87 million. NovoCure had a negative return on equity of 47.74% and a negative net margin of 27.13%.The firm's revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.31) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that NovoCure Limited will post -1.3 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of NovoCure

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of NovoCure by 77.7% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 22,883 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $682,000 after purchasing an additional 10,007 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in shares of NovoCure by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 62,375 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 3,123 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NovoCure during the 1st quarter worth about $527,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of NovoCure during the 4th quarter worth about $203,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NovoCure during the 4th quarter worth about $348,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.61% of the company's stock.

About NovoCure

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.

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