SCS Capital Management LLC Invests $586,000 in Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• SCS Capital Management LLC has acquired a new position in Novartis AG, investing approximately $586,000 for 5,210 shares in the first quarter.
• Recent analyst reports have varied opinions on Novartis, with one firm downgrading the stock from "strong-buy" to "buy" while another upgraded it from "underweight" to "equal weight" with a target price of $123.00.
• Novartis reported strong quarterly earnings, with $2.42 EPS and revenue of $14.05 billion, exceeding analyst estimates and showing a 12.3% year-over-year growth.

SCS Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $586,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 76.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company's stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 40,699 shares of the company's stock worth $4,091,000 after purchasing an additional 11,062 shares during the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth about $993,000. NorthRock Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the company's stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkwood LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth about $11,482,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen cut Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised Novartis from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $123.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed 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, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $126.49 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $267.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.41, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.63. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $96.06 and a 12 month high of $130.46. The firm's 50-day moving average is $121.56 and its 200 day moving average is $115.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.94 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 41.08%. The firm's revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.97 EPS. Research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS 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.

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