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

Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $119.75.

A number of brokerages have commented on NVS. HC Wainwright lowered Novartis to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Barclays raised Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Citigroup began coverage on Novartis in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Bank of America raised shares of Novartis from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Novartis from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th.

Institutional Trading of Novartis

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GFG Capital LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Barrett & Company Inc. bought a new position in Novartis during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new position in Novartis during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis during the third quarter worth about $33,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

NVS opened at $148.95 on Friday. Novartis has a 1-year low of $97.71 and a 1-year high of $152.48. The company has a market cap of $314.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $137.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.25 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 business had revenue of $14.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.06 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Novartis will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Novartis

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.