Aviva PLC Increases Holdings in NovoCure Limited (NASDAQ:NVCR)

Aviva PLC raised its stake in shares of NovoCure Limited (NASDAQ:NVCR – Get Rating) by 151.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 200,430 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 120,871 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned about 0.19% of NovoCure worth $22,730,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NVCR. Pictet Asset Management SA increased its stake in shares of NovoCure by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pictet Asset Management SA now owns 39,965 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,036,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of NovoCure by 462.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,480 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $718,000 after purchasing an additional 7,795 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NovoCure in the 4th quarter worth $178,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of NovoCure by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 38,715 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,785,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in NovoCure by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 228,653 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $16,772,000 after buying an additional 19,246 shares in the last quarter. 78.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on NovoCure in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded NovoCure from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 16th. HC Wainwright dropped their price objective on shares of NovoCure from $130.00 to $115.00 in a report on Thursday, May 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $50.00 price objective (down previously from $99.00) on shares of NovoCure in a report on Friday, March 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Frank X. Leonard sold 1,684 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total transaction of $128,590.24. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 63,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,817,934.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Frank X. Leonard sold 1,684 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total transaction of $128,590.24. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 63,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,817,934.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Wilhelmus Cm Groenhuysen sold 2,164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total transaction of $165,243.04. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 184,615 shares in the company, valued at $14,097,201.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,105 shares of company stock valued at $621,533 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.22% of the company’s stock.

NovoCure Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NVCR opened at $77.46 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 7.11, a current ratio of 7.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. NovoCure Limited has a 12 month low of $56.06 and a 12 month high of $120.03. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $66.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.76.

NovoCure (NASDAQ:NVCR – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.36) by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $122.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $127.93 million. NovoCure had a negative net margin of 26.98% and a negative return on equity of 32.03%. The firm’s revenue was down 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.04) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that NovoCure Limited will post -1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About NovoCure

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NovoCure Ltd. is an oncology company which engages in the development, manufacture, and commercialization of Optune for the treatment of a variety of solid tumors. Its platform is called the Tumor Treating Field which uses electric fields tuned to specific frequencies to disrupt solid tumor cancer cell division.