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

Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $141.20.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on NVS shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novartis

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Archer Investment Corp grew its holdings in Novartis by 93.0% during the first quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Highland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Novartis during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Novartis by 552.0% in the second quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Finally, Atlatl Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $158.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $301.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.83, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.45. Novartis has a 12 month low of $121.57 and a 12 month high of $170.46. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $154.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter. Novartis had a net margin of 23.29% and a return on equity of 38.56%. The firm had revenue of $14.95 billion for the quarter. Research analysts forecast that Novartis will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Company Profile

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.