Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also commented on NVS. HSBC lowered Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. 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 report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $106.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $217.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $100.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.40.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Novartis will post 8.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novartis

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 89,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,668,000 after purchasing an additional 18,894 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Novartis by 115.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 231,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,797,000 after acquiring an additional 124,111 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,001,000 after acquiring an additional 5,164 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 135.5% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 39,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,598,000 after purchasing an additional 22,998 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Novartis by 13.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 157,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,088,000 after purchasing an additional 18,990 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

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.