Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $146.41 and last traded at $146.2560, with a volume of 441676 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $145.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Cfra Research raised Novartis to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, December 29th. HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and set a $112.00 target price on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, November 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $119.75.

Novartis Stock Up 1.6%

The company has a market cap of $311.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.12, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $136.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.65.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly 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). Novartis had a return on equity of 41.21% and a net margin of 26.49%.The company had revenue of $14.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.06 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Novartis

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NVS. GFG Capital LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Barrett & Company Inc. bought a new position in Novartis in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in Novartis in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.