NeuroPace (NASDAQ:NPCE) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

NeuroPace, Inc. (NASDAQ:NPCE) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $16.91, but opened at $17.75. NeuroPace shares last traded at $16.79, with a volume of 93,217 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NPCE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of NeuroPace from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of NeuroPace in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Leerink Partners reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of NeuroPace in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of NeuroPace in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on NeuroPace from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.50.

NeuroPace Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $15.33 and its 200-day moving average is $11.71. The stock has a market cap of $530.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.08 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a current ratio of 4.86, a quick ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.17.

NeuroPace (NASDAQ:NPCE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.20) by $0.09. NeuroPace had a negative net margin of 25.28% and a negative return on equity of 136.60%. The firm had revenue of $27.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.64 million. On average, analysts expect that NeuroPace, Inc. will post -1 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of NeuroPace

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NPCE. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NeuroPace by 4.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,435,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,804,000 after purchasing an additional 66,574 shares during the period. Armistice Capital LLC lifted its holdings in NeuroPace by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 1,298,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,382,000 after buying an additional 145,665 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in NeuroPace by 44.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 485,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,406,000 after buying an additional 149,595 shares during the last quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of NeuroPace by 20.9% during the third quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP now owns 292,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,019,000 after acquiring an additional 50,672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Essex Investment Management Co. LLC increased its position in shares of NeuroPace by 194.2% during the third quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 216,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,234,000 after acquiring an additional 143,063 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

About NeuroPace

NeuroPace, Inc is a medical device company based in Mountain View, California, that develops innovative neuromodulation systems for the treatment of neurological disorders. Founded in the late 1990s out of research at Stanford University, the company’s mission centers on delivering closed-loop, “smart” therapies that monitor and respond to electrical activity in the brain. In 2020, NeuroPace completed its initial public offering and now trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker NPCE.

The company’s flagship product, the RNS® System, is an implantable device designed for adults with medically refractory focal epilepsy.