Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors acquired 56,398 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 35% compared to the typical volume of 41,869 call options.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Up 4.7 %

Shares of NVO stock traded up $3.88 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $86.50. The company had a trading volume of 8,171,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,251,293. The firm has a market cap of $388.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50 day moving average of $92.65 and a 200 day moving average of $112.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.75. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 1-year low of $78.17 and a 1-year high of $148.15.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.03. Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 35.03% and a return on equity of 86.32%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.16 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NVO. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. BNP Paribas raised Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. UBS Group raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVO. Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 72.4% in the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the third quarter worth about $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT grew its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 121.4% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 82.1% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 539 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Novo Nordisk A/S

Novo Nordisk A/S, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research and development, manufacture, and distribution of pharmaceutical products in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, North America, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Diabetes and Obesity Care, and Rare Disease.