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

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $118.13.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NVS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Novartis from $121.00 to $122.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th.

Novartis Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $117.62 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $109.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.03. The company has a market cap of $240.42 billion, a PE ratio of 15.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis has a 52-week low of $92.19 and a 52-week high of $117.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.10. Novartis had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The firm had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Novartis will post 7.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Novartis

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Founders Financial Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 3.4% in the second quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 0.9% in the second quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 10,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 5.1% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 3.4% in the second quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 9.3% in the first quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Company Profile

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.