Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Trading Up 2.6% – Should You Buy?

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)’s stock price shot up 2.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $60.64 and last traded at $58.8540. 28,925,343 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 25% from the average session volume of 23,171,949 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.34.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Rothschild Redb raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “underperform” rating for the company. Zacks Research cut Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.21.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Up 2.6%

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $262.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.11 and a beta of 0.66.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.25. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 73.50% and a net margin of 32.76%.The firm had revenue of $11.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.98 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Novo Nordisk A/S

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVO. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. boosted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 179.4% in the second quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 43,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,999,000 after acquiring an additional 27,900 shares in the last quarter. Martin Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 53.8% during the third quarter. Martin Capital Partners LLC now owns 117,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,524,000 after purchasing an additional 41,129 shares in the last quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,294,000. Unified Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the 2nd quarter valued at about $692,000. Finally, Guild Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 20.7% in the 2nd quarter. Guild Investment Management Inc. now owns 36,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,553,000 after purchasing an additional 6,345 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Company Profile

Novo Nordisk A/S is a Danish multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Bagsværd, Denmark, best known for its leadership in diabetes care and metabolic health. The company traces its roots to early Danish insulin production in the 1920s and was established in its current form through a 1989 merger of predecessor companies. Novo Nordisk develops, manufactures and markets pharmaceutical products and devices that address chronic and serious diseases, with a strong emphasis on long-term treatment and patient support.

The company’s core product portfolio centers on diabetes therapies, including a range of insulins and modern incretin-based treatments.