Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Bought by Wealth Alliance

Wealth Alliance lifted its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,683 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in Novartis were worth $392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Private Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 73.5% during the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $116.00 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.19 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $237.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.65, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.57.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $12.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.24 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 34.56%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NVS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays upgraded Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price objective (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.70.

About Novartis

Novartis AG engages in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. The company offers prescription medicines for patients and physicians. It focuses on therapeutic areas, such as cardiovascular, renal and metabolic, immunology, neuroscience, and oncology, as well as ophthalmology and hematology.