Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Position in Novartis AG $NVS

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,971 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,980 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $6,107,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,529,000. NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 2,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 35.3% during the second quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 4,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 76,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,944,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Novartis by 10.6% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $638,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Novartis

Here are the key news stories impacting Novartis this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The stock showed signs of rebounding after its steep selloff, suggesting some investors may view the decline as an overreaction and remain confident in Novartis’s established medicines portfolio. Novartis Rebounds as $30 Billion Wipeout Draws Board Challenge
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are focusing on how Novartis deployed roughly $30 billion in recent deals, as several acquired programs have encountered clinical setbacks. The scrutiny could lead to changes in capital-allocation priorities, deal approval processes or board composition. Focus: Novartis investors turn spotlight on M&A after trial setbacks
• Negative Sentiment: Experimental drug del-desiran failed to produce a statistically significant improvement in a late-stage trial for myotonic dystrophy type 1. The failure removes a potentially important growth asset and adds to concerns about Novartis’s pipeline. Drug Trial Setbacks Raise Questions Over Novartis’s Growth Pipeline
• Negative Sentiment: Del-desiran was the second major trial setback in a short period, contributing to a sharp weekly selloff and making investors question whether acquisitions are generating sufficient pipeline value. Deutsche Bank responded by cutting its view on the stock. Novartis extends selloff as Deutsche Bank cuts on twin drug trial setbacks
• Negative Sentiment: A major shareholder has called for a board shake-up, arguing that stronger oversight is needed after the trial failures and share-price decline. The challenge adds reputational and execution risk for management. Major Novartis shareholder calls for board shake-up after drug trial setbacks

Novartis Stock Down 0.2%

NVS stock opened at $137.22 on Friday. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $121.57 and a twelve month high of $170.46. The stock has a market cap of $261.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.70, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company’s 50 day moving average is $154.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.00.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $14.95 billion during the quarter. Novartis had a net margin of 23.29% and a return on equity of 38.56%. Research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NVS. HSBC set a $136.00 price target on Novartis in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “sector perform” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $153.00.

About Novartis

Novartis AG (NYSE: NVS) is a Switzerland-based pharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing innovative medicines. The company’s portfolio addresses major disease areas including cardiovascular, renal and metabolic conditions, immunology, neuroscience, oncology and hematology.

Novartis markets medicines such as Entresto for certain heart conditions, Cosentyx for inflammatory diseases, Kisqali for breast cancer, Kesimpta for multiple sclerosis, Leqvio for cholesterol management, Pluvicto for certain prostate cancers and Scemblix for chronic myeloid leukemia.