Novartis’ (NVS) “Neutral” Rating Reaffirmed at UBS Group

UBS Group reiterated their neutral rating on shares of Novartis (NYSE:NVS) in a report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target 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. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novartis in a research report on Wednesday. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $107.56 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The business has a 50-day moving average of $100.53 and a 200-day moving average of $108.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $219.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 503.8% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.