NovoCure's (NVCR) Neutral Rating Reaffirmed at Wedbush

Key Points

• Wedbush reiterated a "Neutral" rating on NovoCure with an $18.00 price target, implying roughly a 47.5% upside from the stock's current level.
• NovoCure reported Q results with EPS of ($0.22) that beat estimates by $0.19 and revenue of $174.35M (up 8.2% YoY), but the company remains unprofitable with negative net margin and ROE and analysts expect about ($1.30) EPS for the year.
• Insiders including the CEO sold shares recently (total insider sales of 140,041 shares worth $1.86M over the last three months), while insiders still own 5.52% of the company and institutional investors own 84.61%.

NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "neutral" rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Wedbush in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $18.00 target price on the medical equipment provider's stock. Wedbush's price target suggests a potential upside of 47.47% from the stock's current price.

NVCR has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of NovoCure in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Evercore set a $20.00 price target on shares of NovoCure in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price target 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.93.

NovoCure Trading Up 0.3%

NovoCure stock opened at $12.21 on Thursday. NovoCure has a 52-week low of $9.82 and a 52-week high of $20.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.02 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $11.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.53. The company has a quick ratio of 2.71, a current ratio of 2.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.41) by $0.19. NovoCure had a negative net margin of 20.79% and a negative return on equity of 39.11%. The company had revenue of $174.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.61) EPS. NovoCure's revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that NovoCure will post -1.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Frank X. Leonard sold 5,607 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.31, for a total transaction of $74,629.17. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 493,793 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,572,384.83. The trade was a 1.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Uri Weinberg sold 6,412 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.31, for a total transaction of $85,343.72. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 267,190 shares in the company, valued at $3,556,298.90. The trade was a 2.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 140,041 shares of company stock worth $1,860,116. Company insiders own 5.52% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of NovoCure

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of NovoCure by 3.0% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 31,313 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 916 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of NovoCure by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,133 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 1,033 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of NovoCure by 0.8% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 137,106 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,771,000 after buying an additional 1,076 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of NovoCure by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,442 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 1,120 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of NovoCure by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,830 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $166,000 after buying an additional 1,667 shares during the period. 84.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NovoCure Company Profile

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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