Novartis AG $NVS is Godsey & Gibb Inc.’s 10th Largest Position

Godsey & Gibb Inc. lessened its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 185,572 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,512 shares during the quarter. Novartis accounts for approximately 2.5% of Godsey & Gibb Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Godsey & Gibb Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $28,346,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 76.5% in 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 last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 102.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 22,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,516,000 after buying an additional 11,444 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the first quarter worth about $1,764,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 48.0% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $963,000 after buying an additional 2,581 shares during the period. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at about $202,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Up 3.0%

NYSE NVS opened at $153.42 on Wednesday. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $112.34 and a 1 year high of $170.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $292.75 billion, a PE ratio of 21.98, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The business’s 50-day moving average is $148.97 and its 200 day moving average is $149.16.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on NVS. Weiss Ratings downgraded Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novartis to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Seven research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.20.

Novartis 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.