Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) released its quarterly earnings results on Friday. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18, Zacks reports. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%.

Novartis Stock Performance

NVS traded up $0.21 during trading on Friday, reaching $104.96. 2,632,212 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,829,555. Novartis has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The company has a market capitalization of $214.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.21, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $100.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on NVS shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, HSBC cut Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

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.