Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $121.50.

NVS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. HSBC downgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 target price (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Bank of America lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd.

Novartis Stock Down 0.1 %

Novartis stock opened at $98.35 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $105.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.02. Novartis has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Novartis will post 7.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novartis

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Novartis by 23.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $788,626,000 after buying an additional 1,389,610 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 191.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,904,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,771,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,318 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 15.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,706,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,225,000 after purchasing an additional 231,851 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 5.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,669,000 after purchasing an additional 70,314 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 938,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,986,000 after buying an additional 26,317 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Novartis

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.