Argus Upgrades Novartis (NYSE:NVS) to Buy

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) was upgraded by equities researchers at Argus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $180.00 price target on the stock. Argus’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 11.36% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently commented on NVS. Weiss Ratings upgraded Novartis from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Novartis from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. DZ Bank cut Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.80.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE NVS opened at $161.64 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $341.45 billion, a PE ratio of 22.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.12. Novartis has a 52-week low of $97.71 and a 52-week high of $170.46. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.80.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. Novartis had a net margin of 25.65% and a return on equity of 40.53%. The firm had revenue of $13.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.98 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Novartis will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Novartis by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 10,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,348,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Roundview Capital LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 2,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. IMA Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Abundance Wealth Counselors grew its position in shares of Novartis by 0.4% in the 4th 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 increased its position in Novartis by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Company Profile

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.