Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $119.75.

NVS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Novartis from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, October 27th. Cfra Research upgraded Novartis to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Cfra set a $126.00 price objective on Novartis and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $141.53 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $132.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $127.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $298.96 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.51. Novartis has a 12 month low of $97.39 and a 12 month high of $143.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $14.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.70 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 41.21% and a net margin of 26.49%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.06 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novartis

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 76.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 102.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 22,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,516,000 after buying an additional 11,444 shares during the period. Plancorp LLC grew its position in shares of Novartis by 77.9% in the 1st quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 8,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $955,000 after buying an additional 3,752 shares during the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its position in shares of Novartis by 18.2% in the 1st quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 807 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 60.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,660,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $408,071,000 after acquiring an additional 1,377,252 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

About Novartis

Novartis is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel that researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and related health-care products. Formed through the 1996 merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, Novartis operates globally and focuses on bringing therapeutics from discovery through clinical development to commercial markets worldwide.

The company’s activities center on innovative pharmaceuticals across several therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience and ophthalmology, alongside capabilities in advanced therapies such as biologics, cell and gene therapies.