Graham Capital Management L.P. Decreases Stake in Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management L.P. reduced its stake in Novartis AG by 9.8% in the first quarter, selling 4,714 shares to hold 43,479 shares valued at approximately $4.85 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Twin Tree Management LP, significantly adjusted their stakes in Novartis, with the latter increasing its position by 10,598.3% during the same period.
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Hold" for Novartis with a price target of $123.50, despite mixed ratings from various research firms.

Graham Capital Management L.P. lowered its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 9.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 43,479 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,714 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $4,847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 1st quarter worth about $1,072,000. Trace Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 1st quarter worth about $203,000. Cura Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the 1st quarter worth about $222,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Novartis in the 1st quarter worth about $3,059,000. Finally, Twin Tree Management LP boosted its stake in Novartis by 10,598.3% in the 1st quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 6,299 shares of the company's stock worth $702,000 after purchasing an additional 6,359 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on NVS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley upgraded Novartis from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $123.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $123.50.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $126.41 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $267.02 billion, a PE ratio of 18.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $120.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.41. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $96.06 and a 12-month high of $128.03.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.94 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 41.08% and a net margin of 25.64%.Novartis's quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.97 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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