Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Given “Hold” Rating at Erste Group Bank

Erste Group Bank reiterated their hold rating on shares of Novartis (NYSE:NVS) in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price objective (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS stock opened at $104.28 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $111.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.15 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Novartis has a 52 week low of $92.35 and a 52 week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Novartis will post 7.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Novartis

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings 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 valued at $788,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389,610 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position 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 during 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 period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth $64,610,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Novartis by 343.5% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 657,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,652,000 after purchasing an additional 509,567 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.