Zacks Research Weighs in on Novartis’ Q3 Earnings (NYSE:NVS)

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) – Research analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q3 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Novartis in a report issued on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $2.22 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.30. The consensus estimate for Novartis’ current full-year earnings is $8.85 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Novartis’ Q4 2026 earnings at $2.20 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $8.82 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $2.31 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $2.52 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $2.44 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $9.67 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $2.54 EPS, Q2 2028 earnings at $2.71 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $10.62 EPS.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $14.95 billion for the quarter. Novartis had a return on equity of 38.56% and a net margin of 23.29%.

NVS has been the topic of several other reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.20.

Novartis Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:NVS opened at $153.37 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $292.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $152.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $152.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Novartis has a 12-month low of $113.48 and a 12-month high of $170.46.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novartis

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Legacy Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 2,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. CPC Advisors LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. CPC Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in Novartis by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 5,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $937,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 27.4% during the 2nd quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 637 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, Leisure Capital Management boosted its position in Novartis by 11.1% during the 2nd quarter. Leisure Capital Management now owns 1,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Novartis

Here are the key news stories impacting Novartis this week:

• Positive Sentiment: FDA approval reportedly nearly doubles the number of patients eligible for Novartis’ Pluvicto, expanding the drug’s addressable market and potentially improving future sales growth. The broader patient pool could support investor optimism about Novartis’ oncology portfolio. FDA approval nearly doubles eligible patient pool for Novartis’ Pluvicto
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its Novartis FY2026 EPS estimate to $8.82 from $8.75 and increased its Q2 2027 forecast to $2.52 from $2.45. It also lifted its Q2 2028 estimate to $2.71 from $2.65. These increases are modest and remain close to the $8.85 consensus estimate for the current year.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks reduced several other forecasts, including Q3 2026 EPS to $2.22 from $2.30, Q4 2026 EPS to $2.20 from $2.23, Q1 2027 EPS to $2.31 from $2.41, Q3 2027 EPS to $2.44 from $2.49, FY2027 EPS to $9.67 from $9.73, and FY2028 EPS to $10.62 from $10.91. The broad downward revisions to later-period earnings suggest some caution about Novartis’ medium-term growth outlook.

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.