Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Releases Earnings Results

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18, Zacks reports. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%.

Novartis Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE NVS traded up $0.38 during trading on Friday, reaching $105.13. 2,475,830 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,821,415. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Novartis has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $100.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $214.89 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.57.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. HSBC lowered Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

About Novartis

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.