Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Receives $121.50 Average Target Price from Analysts

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) has been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the nine analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $121.50.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NVS shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, HSBC lowered Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Novartis Trading Up 0.1 %

NVS stock opened at $99.34 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $101.13 and a 200-day moving average of $109.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Novartis has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The company has a market cap of $203.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.54, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.57.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.74 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Novartis will post 7.65 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novartis

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. now owns 24,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,394,000 after acquiring an additional 1,729 shares in the last quarter. Northside Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Northside Capital Management LLC now owns 3,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP lifted its stake in Novartis by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 6,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $594,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Flywheel Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth about $272,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its position in shares of Novartis by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 192,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,711,000 after acquiring an additional 949 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Company Profile

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.