Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Analysts

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $121.50.

A number of research firms recently commented on NVS. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets increased 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. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th.

Institutional Trading of Novartis

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 1.3% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 37,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,025,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 402,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,807,000 after acquiring an additional 41,046 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in Novartis by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 19,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,044,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Novartis by 5.7% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 32,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,482,000 after acquiring an additional 1,768 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 6.1% in the second quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 2,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $99.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $101.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.28. 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 has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Novartis will post 7.65 earnings per share for the current year.

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.