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

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $122.3333.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on NVS shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, October 27th. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Cfra Research raised shares of Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, August 21st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. GFG Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new position in Novartis in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in Novartis during the third quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Down 0.6%

NVS stock opened at $131.16 on Friday. Novartis has a 12-month low of $96.06 and a 12-month high of $134.00. The business’s 50-day moving average is $127.56 and its 200 day moving average is $121.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $277.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.92, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.60.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.01). Novartis had a net margin of 26.49% and a return on equity of 41.21%. The firm had revenue of $13.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.06 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.