Jump Financial LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• Jump Financial LLC increased its holdings in Novartis AG by 302.4%, acquiring 6,456 additional shares, bringing its total to 8,591 shares valued at $958,000.
• Novartis reported $2.42 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $14.05 billion reflecting a 12.3% year-over-year increase.
• Analysts' ratings for Novartis include one "Strong Buy," one "Buy," seven "Hold," and two "Sell," with an average target price of $123.50.

Jump Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 302.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,591 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,456 shares during the quarter. Jump Financial LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 11,538 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,299,000 after acquiring an additional 1,421 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Novartis by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 66,597 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,424,000 after acquiring an additional 708 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Novartis by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 6,342 shares of the company's stock valued at $707,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Compound Planning Inc. boosted its holdings in Novartis by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 21,761 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,426,000 after acquiring an additional 5,828 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Novartis by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 387,094 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,257,000 after acquiring an additional 36,131 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on NVS. Wall Street Zen cut Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. 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 report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, August 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.50.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS stock traded up $1.42 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $128.06. The stock had a trading volume of 662,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,917,490. The business's fifty day moving average is $120.70 and its 200-day moving average is $114.68. 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 firm has a market cap of $270.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.63, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.63. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $96.06 and a 1-year high of $128.44.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $14.05 billion for 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%.The company's revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.97 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

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.