Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $144.91 and last traded at $144.5190, with a volume of 220780 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $141.61.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NVS. Barclays raised shares of Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 3rd. HC Wainwright cut Novartis to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Novartis from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $119.75.

Novartis Stock Down 2.0%

The stock has a market capitalization of $302.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $134.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $127.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.01). Novartis had a return on equity of 41.21% and a net margin of 26.49%.The company had revenue of $14.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.06 earnings per share. Novartis’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novartis

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 76.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 102.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 22,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,516,000 after buying an additional 11,444 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,764,000. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 1.3% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 39,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,377,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 6.0% during the second quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

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.