Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on NVS. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $104.99 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $100.07 and a 200-day moving average of $108.53. The stock has a market cap of $214.61 billion, a PE ratio of 12.19, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11. Novartis has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Novartis

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Novartis during the third quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 503.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.