Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Acquired by Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC

Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 76.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,719 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,038 shares during the period. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $502,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Private Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Novartis during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Clearstead Trust LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 73.5% during the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new position in Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Novartis Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:NVS opened at $116.95 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $113.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.11. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.19 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The company has a market capitalization of $239.05 billion, a PE ratio of 15.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.10. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. The company had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.24 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Novartis 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.