Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $110.77, but opened at $114.35. Novartis shares last traded at $113.39, with a volume of 399,463 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $109.02 and a 200 day moving average of $107.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.69%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NVS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,183,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $796,372,000 after purchasing an additional 90,823 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,668,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,706,000 after buying an additional 368,171 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Novartis by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,132,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,522,000 after buying an additional 399,862 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,908,000 after buying an additional 296,950 shares during the period. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Novartis by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 1,161,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,990,000 after acquiring an additional 52,044 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.