Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Receives $123.38 Consensus PT from Analysts

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) has been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $123.38.

NVS has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. HSBC lowered shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “underweight” rating for the company.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novartis

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 89,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,668,000 after purchasing an additional 18,894 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Novartis by 115.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 231,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,797,000 after acquiring an additional 124,111 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,001,000 after acquiring an additional 5,164 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in Novartis by 135.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 39,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,598,000 after acquiring an additional 22,998 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $239,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Down 0.7 %

NVS stock opened at $106.98 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Novartis has a 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $100.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.35. The firm has a market cap of $218.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.19, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. Research analysts predict that Novartis will post 8.42 EPS for the current year.

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.