NovoCure Limited (NASDAQ:NVCR) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

NovoCure Limited (NASDAQ:NVCR) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,040,000 shares, an increase of 20.6% from the March 31st total of 5,010,000 shares. Approximately 6.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,270,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.8 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at NovoCure

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

Institutional Trading of NovoCure

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. UMB Bank n.a. purchased a new position in NovoCure in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in NovoCure by 96.8% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,739 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,347 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in NovoCure by 278.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,880 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 2,118 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in NovoCure by 127.9% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,891 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 2,184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in NovoCure in the 3rd quarter worth $74,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on NovoCure from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $28.00 target price (up from $25.00) on shares of NovoCure in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on NovoCure from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on NovoCure from $49.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on NovoCure from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.13.

NovoCure Stock Down 4.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ NVCR opened at $12.24 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 5.56 and a current ratio of 5.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.28 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $14.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.88. NovoCure has a 52-week low of $10.87 and a 52-week high of $83.60.

NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.45) earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $133.80 million. NovoCure had a negative return on equity of 51.63% and a negative net margin of 40.65%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.36) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that NovoCure will post -1.78 earnings per share for the current 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.