Denali Advisors LLC Buys 417 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Denali Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,112 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the quarter. Denali Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,152,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 503.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $107.95 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $220.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.36, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $102.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

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, equities analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on NVS shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

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.