Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Novartis currently has a consensus analyst rating of “Hold” from 16 brokers, with an average 12-month price target of $141.20. The split includes 2 sell, 7 hold, and 7 buy ratings.
• Recent analyst revisions were mixed but leaned constructive overall, with Zacks raising some late-2026 and FY2027 earnings estimates while trimming near-term forecasts. This suggests improving longer-term expectations, but some caution remains for the near term.
• Novartis recently reported Q1 earnings of $1.99 per share, missing estimates, though revenue came in slightly above expectations at $13.52 billion. The company’s stock was up about 0.4% and institutional ownership stands at 13.12%.

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Hold" from the sixteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $141.20.

Several brokerages recently commented on NVS. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Argus upgraded Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 12th.

Key Novartis News

Here are the key news stories impacting Novartis this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its earnings estimate for Q3 2026 to $2.30 from $2.28, suggesting slightly better mid-year profitability expectations.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research increased its Q4 2026 EPS forecast to $2.23 from $2.08, a meaningful upward revision for late-2026 earnings.
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank also nudged up its FY2027 EPS estimate to $9.77 from $9.74, reinforcing a generally constructive longer-term view. Novartis stock page
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst consensus still calls for FY2026 EPS of $8.86, while Zacks’ revised FY2026 estimate of $8.75 remains close to that level, indicating expectations are largely intact.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks cut Q2 2026 EPS to $2.24 from $2.37 and trimmed FY2026 guidance, which may temper enthusiasm about near-term growth.
• Negative Sentiment: Additional reductions to Q1 2027, Q2 2027, and Q4 2027 estimates point to some caution around future earnings momentum.

Novartis Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $145.98 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Novartis has a 52 week low of $104.93 and a 52 week high of $170.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $153.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $278.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.11 by ($0.12). Novartis had a net margin of 24.87% and a return on equity of 38.82%. The company had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.28 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Novartis

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Archer Investment Corp boosted its position in Novartis by 93.0% during the first quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 166 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust boosted its position in Novartis by 425.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 231 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in Novartis during the third quarter worth $31,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Novartis

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.

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