Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Raised to Hold at Sanford C. Bernstein

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) was upgraded by research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on NVS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Novartis from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Novartis from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Novartis from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.80.

Novartis Price Performance

Novartis stock opened at $145.92 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $155.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.07. 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 1 year low of $97.71 and a 1 year high of $170.46. The company has a market capitalization of $308.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.49.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Novartis will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novartis

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust grew its position in shares of Novartis by 425.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Novartis News

Here are the key news stories impacting Novartis this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Acquisition boosts oncology pipeline — Novartis agreed to acquire Synnovation’s SNV4818, a pan‑mutant‑selective PI3Kα inhibitor being developed for HR+/HER2‑ breast cancer, for $2B upfront and up to $1B in milestones: a clear long‑term pipeline and revenue growth play. Novartis to buy breast cancer drug candidate from Synnovation
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage consensus supports upside but not unanimously bullish — Analysts aggregate a “Moderate Buy” rating on NVS, which underpins investor confidence but suggests tempered near‑term expectations. Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages
• Negative Sentiment: Sector safety alert could drag sentiment — The U.S. FDA flagged a potential seizure risk for certain Parkinson’s drugs and asked manufacturers to add warnings; while not specific to Novartis, the notice weighs on investor appetite for drug stocks and raises regulatory/safety sensitivity in the sector. US FDA flags seizure risk with certain Parkinson’s drugs, seeks label warnings

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.