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

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) has received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and eight have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $121.50.

Several research firms have issued reports on NVS. Bank of America cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price target (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd.

Novartis Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NVS stock opened at $104.28 on Friday. 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 twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $111.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.05. The stock has a market cap of $213.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Novartis will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novartis

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Founders Financial Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 3.4% in the second quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. raised its position in Novartis by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 2,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 10,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Novartis by 5.1% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 1.7% during the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $659,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. 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.