Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Stock Has Average Target Price of $152.25

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $152.25.

A number of analysts have recently commented on NVS shares. DZ Bank began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS stock opened at $161.83 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $148.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $152.16. The stock has a market cap of $308.79 billion, a PE ratio of 18.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Novartis has a 1 year low of $123.24 and a 1 year high of $170.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $15.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.53 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 41.04% and a net margin of 18.11%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.25 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Novartis will post 9.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CPC Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Novartis by 4.6% during the second quarter. CPC Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Canopy Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 1.9% in the third quarter. Canopy Partners LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $503,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Busey Bank increased its holdings in Novartis by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Busey Bank now owns 2,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its holdings in Novartis by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 1,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, PFG Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 4,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Company Profile

Novartis AG is a Switzerland-based pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative medicines. The company’s research and commercial activities span areas including cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases, immunology, neuroscience, oncology and hematology. Its portfolio includes prescription medicines such as Entresto, Cosentyx, Kisqali, Kesimpta, Leqvio, Pluvicto and Scemblix.

Novartis serves patients and healthcare providers in markets around the world.