Mengis Capital Management Inc. Buys 6,750 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Mengis Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 10.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 70,748 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,750 shares during the quarter. Novartis makes up 1.7% of Mengis Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Mengis Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $9,754,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 26.4% during the fourth quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 698 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 5,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $797,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $205,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, MidFirst Bank acquired a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Price Performance

Novartis stock opened at $147.17 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $280.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $112.34 and a 12 month high of $170.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $149.10 and its 200-day moving average is $148.76.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.11 by ($0.12). Novartis had a net margin of 24.87% and a return on equity of 38.82%. The firm had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.82 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on NVS. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Argus upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Novartis to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.20.

Novartis Company Profile

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.