Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at DZ Bank

Stock analysts at DZ Bank started coverage on shares of Novartis (NYSE:NVS) in a research note issued on Wednesday, Zacks reports. The firm set a “hold” rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on NVS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $163.00 price target on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, HSBC raised Novartis from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $123.00 to $136.00 in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $152.25.

Novartis Stock Performance

Novartis stock opened at $161.03 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Novartis has a 12 month low of $121.98 and a 12 month high of $170.46. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $148.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $151.71. The company has a market cap of $307.28 billion, a PE ratio of 30.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.41.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.21. Novartis had a return on equity of 41.04% and a net margin of 18.11%. The business had revenue of $15.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Novartis will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Novartis

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 4,316.2% during the second quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 14,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,312,000 after acquiring an additional 14,416 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its position in Novartis by 85.7% in the second quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 19,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,086,000 after purchasing an additional 9,086 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Novartis by 40.4% in the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 195,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,715,000 after purchasing an additional 56,424 shares during the period. Somerville Kurt F bought a new position in Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,636,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at $4,529,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Novartis

Novartis AG is a Switzerland-based pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative medicines. The company’s research and commercial activities span areas including cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases, immunology, neuroscience, oncology and hematology. Its portfolio includes prescription medicines such as Entresto, Cosentyx, Kisqali, Kesimpta, Leqvio, Pluvicto and Scemblix.

Novartis serves patients and healthcare providers in markets around the world.