Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR)

NovoCure Limited (NASDAQ:NVCR) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Investors purchased 4,528 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 252% compared to the average daily volume of 1,285 call options.

NovoCure Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of NVCR opened at $30.51 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $17.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.79 and a beta of 0.75. NovoCure has a 12-month low of $11.66 and a 12-month high of $32.60.

NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.34) by $0.06. NovoCure had a negative net margin of 25.93% and a negative return on equity of 41.48%. The firm had revenue of $155.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $143.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.46) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that NovoCure will post -1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NovoCure

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVCR. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in NovoCure during the 1st quarter valued at $695,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of NovoCure by 2,917.0% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,017 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 2,917 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of NovoCure by 182.3% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,281 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 3,410 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its position in NovoCure by 45.5% during the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 8,000 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in NovoCure during the 2nd quarter worth about $48,000. 84.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVCR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price target (up previously from $30.00) on shares of NovoCure in a report on Monday. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price target (up previously from $24.00) on shares of NovoCure in a research note on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised NovoCure from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $18.00 to $30.00 in a report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, NovoCure presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.33.

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.