Morgan Stanley Initiates Coverage on Novartis (NYSE:NVS)

Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novartis (NYSE:NVS) in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm set an “underweight” rating on the stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $107.56 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $219.85 billion, a PE ratio of 18.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Novartis has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.34.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. On average, equities analysts predict that Novartis will post 8.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novartis

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth $88,339,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,668,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,706,000 after purchasing an additional 368,171 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,908,000 after purchasing an additional 296,950 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 128.1% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 528,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,554,000 after purchasing an additional 296,890 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth $30,063,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.