Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the nine analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and eight have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $121.50.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novartis

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $104.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $111.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.20. Novartis has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $214.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.74 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Novartis will post 7.66 EPS for the current year.

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.