UBS Group Reiterates “Neutral” Rating for Novartis (NYSE:NVS)

Novartis (NYSE:NVS)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating restated by stock analysts at UBS Group in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on NVS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. HSBC lowered shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:NVS opened at $106.98 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $100.53 and its 200-day moving average is $108.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Novartis has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The firm has a market cap of $218.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. Equities analysts anticipate that Novartis will post 8.42 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novartis

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CX Institutional increased its stake in Novartis by 3.9% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 10,679 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,228,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Novartis by 4.1% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 344,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,676,000 after purchasing an additional 13,486 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. FLC Capital Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. FLC Capital Advisors now owns 2,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mezzasalma Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 5,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $603,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

About Novartis

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.