Brokerages Set Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) PT at $121.50

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) has received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $121.50.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NVS. HSBC downgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th.

Novartis Price Performance

Novartis stock opened at $97.51 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $199.30 billion, a PE ratio of 11.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $100.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.99. Novartis has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. Analysts expect that Novartis will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novartis

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Novartis by 1.3% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 37,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,025,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 402,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,807,000 after purchasing an additional 41,046 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 19,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,044,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in Novartis by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 32,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,482,000 after buying an additional 1,768 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 2,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by 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.