Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) has earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the nine research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and seven have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $121.50.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. HSBC downgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th.

Novartis Price Performance

NYSE NVS opened at $97.73 on Friday. Novartis has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $100.97 and a 200 day moving average of $109.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $199.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.35, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.57.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.74 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 503.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth $55,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.