Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $119.75.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on NVS shares. HC Wainwright cut Novartis to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Cfra Research raised shares of Novartis to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Novartis from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, January 16th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Abundance Wealth Counselors lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors now owns 16,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,334,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Novartis by 39.0% in the 3rd quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its position in shares of Novartis by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 8,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,214,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.7% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $611,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Novartis stock opened at $148.95 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $137.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $129.35. Novartis has a 12 month low of $97.71 and a 12 month 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 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 issued its 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). The firm had revenue of $14.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.70 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 26.49% and a return on equity of 41.21%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.06 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

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.