Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $87.17, but opened at $79.81. Novo Nordisk A/S shares last traded at $78.98, with a volume of 4,143,662 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NVO. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. BNP Paribas raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. StockNews.com lowered Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, December 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $359.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $84.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 84.68% and a net margin of 34.81%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.7874 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is 47.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NVO. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 72.4% during the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 2,727.3% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S during the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

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.