Zacks Research Has Negative Outlook for Novartis Q4 Earnings

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) – Zacks Research cut their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Novartis in a report issued on Tuesday, November 12th. Zacks Research analyst E. Bagri now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $1.76 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.86. The consensus estimate for Novartis’ current full-year earnings is $7.63 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Novartis’ Q3 2025 earnings at $2.18 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.02 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $8.23 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.22 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $2.42 EPS.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. The firm had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.74 earnings per share.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on NVS. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price objective (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS opened at $103.06 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $113.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $109.84. Novartis has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $210.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Novartis by 23.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $788,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389,610 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 0.6% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,568,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,473,000 after acquiring an additional 16,015 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 53.7% in the first quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,372,000 after acquiring an additional 666,104 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Novartis by 191.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,904,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Novartis by 15.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,706,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,225,000 after purchasing an additional 231,851 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.