Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $141.20.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on NVS shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Weiss Ratings cut Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Argus raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 10,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,348,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Roundview Capital LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 2,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in Novartis by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. now owns 710 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors boosted its position in Novartis by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors now owns 16,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,334,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE NVS opened at $159.82 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $304.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.45. Novartis has a 52-week low of $112.34 and a 52-week high of $170.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $149.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.12). Novartis had a net margin of 24.87% and a return on equity of 38.82%. The business had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.28 EPS. Novartis’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Novartis will post 8.86 EPS for the current year.

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.