SpiderRock Advisors LLC Buys New Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

SpiderRock Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 11,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,291,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Clearstead Trust LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 73.5% in the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on NVS shares. Bank of America cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price target (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Novartis Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE NVS opened at $106.45 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $217.58 billion, a PE ratio of 12.36, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $114.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.56 earnings per share for the current 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.