Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Now Covered by StockNews.com

Stock analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Novartis (NYSE:NVS) in a note issued to investors on Monday. The firm set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock.

Separately, Morgan Stanley raised Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.50.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS traded up $0.34 during trading on Monday, reaching $95.25. The stock had a trading volume of 2,174,519 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,823,096. The stock has a market cap of $201.89 billion, a PE ratio of 25.60, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.94. Novartis has a one year low of $79.98 and a one year high of $105.61. The business has a 50-day moving average of $97.21 and a 200-day moving average of $99.64.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $11.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.05 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 28.27% and a net margin of 15.35%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis will post 6.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Novartis

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NVS. McCarthy Grittinger Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the third quarter worth about $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its holdings in Novartis by 750.0% in the second quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Finally, Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC. lifted its holdings in Novartis by 49.5% in the second quarter. Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC. now owns 299 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Company Profile

Novartis AG researches, develops, manufactures, and markets 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.