Brokerages Set Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Price Target at $118.38

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) has earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and seven have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $120.70.

Several research firms recently issued reports on NVS. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays upgraded Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Private Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 73.5% during the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $115.66 on Monday. Novartis has a 52 week low of $92.19 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $113.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.00. The firm has a market cap of $236.41 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Novartis will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

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.