Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Price Target Raised to $170.00

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) had its target price boosted by Morgan Stanley from $143.00 to $170.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Novartis from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Argus raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. HSBC reissued a “reduce” rating and issued a $112.00 target price on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Novartis from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Two 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.20.

Novartis Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $148.30 on Thursday. Novartis has a 1 year low of $97.71 and a 1 year high of $170.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $155.88 and a 200 day moving average of $139.87. The stock has a market cap of $313.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.49.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $13.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Novartis will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th were given a dividend of $4.773 per share. This represents a yield of 306.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 11th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is 43.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust increased its holdings in Novartis by 425.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in Novartis during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Novartis News

Here are the key news stories impacting Novartis this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strategic pipeline lift — acquisition adds Exl‑111, a next‑generation anti‑IgE candidate designed to dissociate receptor‑bound IgE and potentially deliver faster, deeper suppression across food allergy, urticaria and asthma; strengthens Novartis’ allergy franchise and long‑term growth optionality. Novartis press release
• Positive Sentiment: Third‑party validation of strategic rationale — Zacks and other outlets highlight the deal as a targeted move to shore up Novartis’ immunology/allergy pipeline, giving the company a potentially differentiated asset in an established biology area. Zacks: Novartis bolsters immunology pipeline
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade/price target lift — Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $170 and moved to overweight, suggesting upside based on the company’s pipeline and strategic M&A. That supports a constructive medium‑term view despite near‑term noise. Benzinga: Morgan Stanley raises PT
• Neutral Sentiment: Deal terms and timing — Novartis will pay up to $2.0B in upfront and milestone payments; transaction expected to close in H2 2026 subject to customary conditions. That sets clear milestone watches but implies multi‑year value realization. Reuters: Deal terms
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution on execution and timing — Goldman Sachs (via TipRanks) kept a Sell rating, citing long‑dated pipeline risk and looming loss‑of‑exclusivity (LOE) headwinds that the Excellergy add does not immediately offset; some investors may view the deal as expensive for an early‑stage asset. TipRanks: Goldman Sachs reaction

About Novartis

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.