TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Purchases 11,791 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• TD Waterhouse Canada increased its Novartis position by 15.8%, purchasing 11,791 shares to hold 86,457 shares valued at approximately $13.3 million. Other major institutional investors also expanded their stakes, though institutions collectively own 13.12% of the company.
• Novartis reported positive Phase 3 results for remibrutinib in relapsing multiple sclerosis, but its pipeline faces setbacks after pelacarsen failed a cardiovascular-outcomes trial and the company paused eight CAR-T trials following three patient deaths.
• NVS shares opened at $159.95 after falling 1.9%; analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $141.20 target price, below the current trading level.

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 15.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 86,457 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 11,791 shares during the quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $13,322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in Novartis by 13,687.0% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 4,628,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $638,103,000 after acquiring an additional 4,594,726 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the first quarter worth about $220,004,000. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Novartis by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,876,906 shares of the company's stock worth $1,223,860,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148,033 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 39.6% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 3,158,122 shares of the company's stock valued at $435,414,000 after purchasing an additional 895,255 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $108,638,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Key Novartis News

Here are the key news stories impacting Novartis this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Novartis reported that remibrutinib met the primary endpoint in two Phase 3 trials for relapsing multiple sclerosis. The result supports the potential expansion of the drug beyond its existing development opportunities. Novartis Remibrutinib Phase 3 Trial Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Novartis’ recent Basel-related move and a reported multibillion-dollar investment to improve how an existing medicine is delivered point to a shift in strategic priorities. The initiative could support product differentiation and lifecycle management, although its financial impact is not yet clear. Novartis Basel Strategic Move
• Neutral Sentiment: Options traders purchased a large volume of Novartis put contracts, signaling increased near-term hedging or bearish speculation. This reflects market sentiment rather than a change in the company’s fundamentals. Novartis Put Option Activity
• Negative Sentiment: Novartis and partner Ionis Pharmaceuticals said pelacarsen failed to reduce major cardiovascular events in a Phase 3 trial. The setback weakens the outlook for a closely watched treatment targeting lipoprotein(a), a major potential growth opportunity in cardiovascular medicine. Pelacarsen Late-Stage Trial Failure
• Negative Sentiment: Novartis paused eight experimental rap-cel CAR-T trials after three patient deaths linked to severe immune reactions. The safety issue threatens development of the company’s autoimmune and neurological cell-therapy programs and raises regulatory and disclosure concerns. Novartis CAR-T Trial Halt
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group Bank lowered its earnings estimates for Novartis, adding pressure to expectations for future results. Combined with the pelacarsen failure and CAR-T safety pause, the revisions reinforce concerns about pipeline execution. Erste Group Cuts Novartis Earnings Estimates

Novartis Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NVS stock opened at $159.95 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $121.57 and a 12-month high of $170.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $155.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $305.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.45.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter. Novartis had a return on equity of 38.56% and a net margin of 23.29%.The company had revenue of $14.95 billion for the quarter. Equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $141.20.

Novartis Profile

Novartis is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel that researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and related health-care products. Formed through the 1996 merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, Novartis operates globally and focuses on bringing therapeutics from discovery through clinical development to commercial markets worldwide.

The company's activities center on innovative pharmaceuticals across several therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience and ophthalmology, alongside capabilities in advanced therapies such as biologics, cell and gene therapies.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.