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

Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $141.20.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on NVS shares. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Argus raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 12th.

Novartis Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $143.70 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.85. Novartis has a 52 week low of $112.34 and a 52 week high of $170.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $274.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.59, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $149.60 and its 200 day moving average is $147.14.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.44 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 24.87% and a return on equity of 38.82%. The business’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.28 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 10,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Roundview Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 2,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. now owns 710 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 0.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

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.