What happened
Biotech stocks are famously volatile, and investors needed to look no further than the performance of Novocure's (NVCR 3.31%) shares on Thursday for proof. The company's share price cratered by almost 16% on the day due to worse-than-expected fundamentals from its latest quarter. That decline was notably steeper than that of the S&P 500 index, which fell by a far less painful 0.6%.
So what
That morning, Novocure published its second-quarter figures. The biotech, which concentrates on the development of cancer treatments, booked slightly over $126 million in revenue for the period. This was down from the nearly $141 million of second-quarter 2023.
As for the bottom line, Novocure's net loss more than doubled. It came in at $57.4 million ($0.54 per share), comparing unfavorably to the year-ago shortfall of $24 million.
- Compounding that, the company whiffed on analyst expectations for that metric. Prognosticators following the company were forecasting that the net loss would be only $0.49 per share. On a brighter note, they were modeling slightly more than $124 million on the top line, a figure that was beaten by Novocure's actual performance.
Now what
Despite the earnings miss and the deepening loss, Novocure management put a bullish spin on the quarter.
It said that the launch of its wearable cancer treatment device Optune in France "has been a resounding success" and that it is positioned to roll out its wares in other markets later in 2023. It also said it is looking forward to a clutch of phase 3 trials for its cancer-fighting solutions; these should occur by the end of next year.
