Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Trading Down 7.8% – Should You Sell?

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) was down 7.8% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $57.28 and last traded at $57.99. 32,192,935 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 440% from the average daily volume of 5,963,203 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on NVO shares. BNP Paribas started coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Tuesday. They set an “underperform” rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $135.00.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Down 7.8 %

The company has a market capitalization of $260.23 billion, a PE ratio of 17.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.13.

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

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.7874 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVO. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,492,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,332,655,000 after buying an additional 1,165,955 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 74.7% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 12,994,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,117,790,000 after purchasing an additional 5,556,460 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 34.2% during the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 11,571,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $995,397,000 after purchasing an additional 2,947,771 shares in the last quarter. Folketrygdfondet increased its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 8,903,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $765,917,000 after acquiring an additional 40,313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 8,312,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $715,084,000 after buying an additional 123,681 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Company Profile

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.