Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,040,000 shares, an increase of 26.3% from the February 13th total of 3,990,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,770,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on NVS. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. HSBC lowered shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Three 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of Novartis stock traded up $0.01 on Tuesday, hitting $112.23. The company had a trading volume of 3,957,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,436,011. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market cap of $229.39 billion, a PE ratio of 19.09, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. Novartis has a 52 week low of $92.35 and a 52 week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. Research analysts expect that Novartis will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Novartis

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 42.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 145,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,191,000 after buying an additional 43,418 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Novartis by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 6,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $610,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the period. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Brucke Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $641,000. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Novartis by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 37,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.