Short Interest in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Expands By 30.1%

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 19,070,000 shares, a growth of 30.1% from the March 31st total of 14,660,000 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 8,960,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on NVO. StockNews.com raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an “underperform” rating for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Hsbc Global Res raised Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $64.00 target price (down previously from $105.00) on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVO. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 13,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,601,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,655,000 after purchasing an additional 3,750 shares in the last quarter. Sfmg LLC boosted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 1,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 86.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 28,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,453,000 after purchasing an additional 13,437 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 5.2% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 54,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,513,000 after buying an additional 2,684 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

NYSE NVO opened at $69.27 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $310.85 billion, a PE ratio of 21.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.74. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 52-week low of $57.00 and a 52-week high of $148.15. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.78.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.03. Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 34.81% and a return on equity of 84.68%. On average, research analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.54%.

Novo Nordisk A/S Company Profile

Novo Nordisk A/S, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research and development, manufacture, and distribution of pharmaceutical products in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, North America, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Diabetes and Obesity Care, and Rare Disease.