Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the eight brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and seven have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $120.70.

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Barclays raised shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th.

Novartis Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:NVS opened at $114.81 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Novartis has a twelve month low of $92.19 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The company has a market cap of $234.67 billion, a PE ratio of 14.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50 day moving average is $115.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.99.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.10. Novartis had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The firm had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Novartis will post 7.52 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novartis

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 23.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $788,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389,610 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Novartis by 191.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,904,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,318 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 53.7% during the 1st quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,372,000 after purchasing an additional 666,104 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the second quarter worth $64,610,000. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD raised its position in shares of Novartis by 40.1% in the first quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 2,065,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,819,000 after buying an additional 590,830 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Company Profile

Novartis AG engages in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. The company offers prescription medicines for patients and physicians. It focuses on therapeutic areas, such as cardiovascular, renal and metabolic, immunology, neuroscience, and oncology, as well as ophthalmology and hematology.