Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $153.00.

NVS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. They set a “sector perform” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. HSBC raised shares of Novartis from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $123.00 to $136.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $140.48 on Friday. Novartis has a twelve month low of $121.57 and a twelve month high of $170.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $152.61 and its 200-day moving average is $152.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $268.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.45.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Novartis had a net margin of 23.29% and a return on equity of 38.56%. The business had revenue of $14.95 billion during the quarter. Sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novartis

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,465,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,029,317,000 after buying an additional 226,484 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Novartis by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,962,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $758,067,000 after acquiring an additional 413,778 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its stake in Novartis by 13,687.0% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 4,628,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $638,103,000 after acquiring an additional 4,594,726 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Novartis by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,479,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $617,562,000 after purchasing an additional 419,988 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Novartis by 1.9% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,275,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,649,000 after purchasing an additional 41,520 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

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.