Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) have been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the nine research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $121.50.

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novartis

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NVS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 23.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $788,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389,610 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 191.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at about $64,610,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 343.5% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 10,528.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 324,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,511,000 after purchasing an additional 321,121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Up 1.4 %

NVS stock opened at $99.10 on Wednesday. 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 fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $107.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.23. The stock has a market cap of $202.56 billion, a PE ratio of 11.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.56.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.74 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Novartis will post 7.65 EPS for the current year.

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.