Maverick Capital Ltd. Increases Position in Novartis AG $NVS

Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 37.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 15,247 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,174 shares during the quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Novartis by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 10,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Roundview Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 2,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. IMA Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. now owns 710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Abundance Wealth Counselors grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors now owns 16,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,334,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.20.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $156.13 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $152.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $152.33. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $112.34 and a fifty-two week high of $170.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $297.91 billion, a PE ratio of 23.55, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.45.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued 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 for the quarter. Novartis had a net margin of 23.29% and a return on equity of 38.56%. Equities analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.