NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on NVCR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on NovoCure in a research note on Monday, July 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $17.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of NovoCure in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of NovoCure from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of NovoCure from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, HC Wainwright set a $32.00 price target on shares of NovoCure in a report on Friday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.20.

NovoCure Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NVCR opened at $14.72 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $16.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 2.70 and a current ratio of 2.89. The firm has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.32 and a beta of 0.99. NovoCure has a 1 year low of $9.82 and a 1 year high of $21.45.

NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.33) by $0.20. NovoCure had a negative return on equity of 44.00% and a negative net margin of 21.25%. The company had revenue of $183.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $172.44 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.36) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that NovoCure will post -1.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVCR. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of NovoCure by 23.7% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 2,487,376 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $27,112,000 after buying an additional 477,128 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of NovoCure by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,551,554 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $16,912,000 after acquiring an additional 163,800 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of NovoCure by 346.7% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,245,541 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $13,576,000 after acquiring an additional 966,735 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of NovoCure by 27.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 960,056 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $10,462,000 after acquiring an additional 207,913 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of NovoCure in the 2nd quarter worth $2,248,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

About NovoCure

NovoCure Ltd. (NASDAQ: NVCR) is an oncology company focused on developing and commercializing Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields), a non-invasive cancer treatment that uses low-intensity alternating electric fields to disrupt the division of tumor cells. The company’s technology is designed to be delivered through wearable systems that generate fields at specific frequencies and intensities.

NovoCure’s primary products include Optune Gio, marketed in the United States for certain adults with glioblastoma, and Optune Lua, approved in the United States for use with standard chemotherapy in adults with unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic malignant pleural mesothelioma.