Investors Purchase High Volume of Put Options on Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Key Points

• Investors have shown significant interest in Novo Nordisk A/S, with a remarkable purchase of 82,994 put options, representing a 57% increase over the typical trading volume.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed; while Dbs Bank downgraded the stock to a "sell," BMO Capital Markets has a "market perform" rating with a reduced price target of $64.00.
• Institutional investors have increased their stakes in Novo Nordisk, with Kingstone Capital Partners raising its holding dramatically by over 301,000% during the last quarter.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders purchased 82,994 put options on the company. Thisisanincreaseofapproximately57% compared to the typical volume of 52,902 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $64.00 price target (down previously from $105.00) on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. HSBC lowered Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $57.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $93.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NVO. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC increased its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 301,443.6% in the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 10,005,216 shares of the company's stock valued at $690,560,000 after acquiring an additional 10,001,898 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S in the first quarter worth about $370,272,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 73.2% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 6,244,931 shares of the company's stock valued at $537,189,000 after purchasing an additional 2,639,693 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter worth about $158,657,000. Finally, Amundi grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 49.1% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 4,938,507 shares of the company's stock valued at $331,576,000 after acquiring an additional 1,627,051 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 11.54% of the company's stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

Shares of NVO traded down $1.92 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $45.30. 13,380,522 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,883,499. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.74. The business's 50-day moving average price is $68.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.20. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 12 month low of $45.55 and a 12 month high of $139.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.63.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.08. Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 34.52% and a return on equity of 80.94%. Equities analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Company Profile

Novo Nordisk A/S, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research and development, manufacture, and distribution of pharmaceutical products in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, North America, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Diabetes and Obesity Care, and Rare Disease.

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