NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Shares jumped sharply: NovoCure stock gapped up and was trading about +29% after the open, reflecting heavy intraday buying interest.
• Mixed quarterly results: Q1 EPS missed at ($0.62) vs. ($0.49) expected, but revenue beat at $174.06M (+12.3% YoY), showing top-line growth despite profitability weakness.
• Analyst and insider signals diverge: The consensus is an average rating of "Hold" (avg. target $26.93) with 3 Buys/3 Holds/1 Sell, while insiders have sold ~140,041 shares in the last 90 days and institutions own ~84.6% of the stock.

NovoCure Limited (NASDAQ:NVCR - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $11.93, but opened at $13.36. NovoCure shares last traded at $14.2460, with a volume of 761,080 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of NovoCure in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of NovoCure from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Evercore set a $20.00 target price on NovoCure in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of NovoCure in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NovoCure presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.93.

NovoCure Trading Up 29.0%

The company has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.50 and a beta of 0.82. The stock's 50 day moving average is $12.03 and its 200-day moving average is $12.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 2.90 and a quick ratio of 2.71.

NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.62) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.49) by ($0.13). NovoCure had a negative return on equity of 39.11% and a negative net margin of 20.79%.The company had revenue of $174.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.77 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.31) earnings per share. NovoCure's quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that NovoCure Limited will post -1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman William F. Doyle sold 71,887 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.98, for a total value of $933,093.26. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 328,397 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,262,593.06. This represents a 17.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Christoph Brackmann sold 6,412 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.31, for a total value of $85,343.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 182,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,433,627.02. The trade was a 3.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 140,041 shares of company stock valued at $1,860,116 over the last 90 days. 5.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NovoCure

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVCR. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in NovoCure by 56.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 28,728 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 10,394 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in NovoCure by 3.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 74,992 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,336,000 after purchasing an additional 2,502 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of NovoCure by 5.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 993,670 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $17,707,000 after acquiring an additional 52,180 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NovoCure in the first quarter worth $87,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NovoCure in the second quarter worth $216,000. 84.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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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