NeuroPace (NASDAQ:NPCE) Stock Gets Downgrade from Wall Street Zen

NeuroPace (NASDAQ:NPCE) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of NeuroPace in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered NeuroPace from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $9.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday. Leerink Partners cut NeuroPace from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $7.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded NeuroPace from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $9.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of NeuroPace in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.50.

NeuroPace Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NPCE opened at $7.56 on Friday. NeuroPace has a fifty-two week low of $5.46 and a fifty-two week high of $19.60. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.75. The company has a market capitalization of $259.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.50 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.97, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a current ratio of 4.94.

NeuroPace (NASDAQ:NPCE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.04. NeuroPace had a negative net margin of 20.00% and a negative return on equity of 110.26%. The firm had revenue of $22.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.61 million. Analysts expect that NeuroPace will post -0.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of NeuroPace during the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new position in NeuroPace in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $153,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in NeuroPace in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $157,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in NeuroPace in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $322,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in NeuroPace in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $351,000. 78.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting NeuroPace

Here are a few of the latest stories about NPCE:

• Positive Sentiment: NeuroPace reported a Q3 loss of $0.03 per share, improved from a $0.11 loss a year earlier and better than analyst estimates. Zacks Q3 earnings report
• Negative Sentiment: Q3 revenue was $23.1 million, below the cited $27.1 million analyst estimate. Revenue from the company’s RNS System grew just 1.4% year over year, signaling limited near-term growth. NeuroPace Q3 results and guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst actions added pressure: JPMorgan cut its rating to neutral and lowered its target from $20 to $9; Wells Fargo and Leerink Partners also downgraded the shares. KeyCorp maintained an overweight rating but cut its target from $18 to $14. Analyst rating changes

About NeuroPace

NeuroPace, Inc. is a medical technology company focused on treating people with drug-resistant epilepsy. Its primary product is the RNS System, an implanted responsive neurostimulation device designed to detect patterns of abnormal electrical activity in the brain and deliver stimulation in response. The RNS System includes a neurostimulator implanted in the skull and leads placed in or near seizure-onset areas of the brain. Clinicians use the system to review brain activity and adjust treatment, while patients can use accompanying tools to record information about their seizures and share it with their care team.