Gibbs Wealth Management Buys 10,592 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Gibbs Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 331.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,783 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,592 shares during the quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Novartis by 9.6% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 619,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,594,000 after acquiring an additional 54,262 shares during the last quarter. Davis R M Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at $267,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of Novartis by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 203,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,015,000 after purchasing an additional 24,096 shares during the period. Aureus Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Novartis by 27.4% during the first quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC now owns 5,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $839,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the first quarter valued at about $52,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Up 2.1%

NVS stock opened at $156.32 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $112.34 and a 52 week high of $170.46. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $151.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $152.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $298.29 billion, a PE ratio of 23.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 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 for the quarter. The company had revenue of $14.95 billion for the quarter. Novartis had a net margin of 23.29% and a return on equity of 38.56%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on NVS. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.