Short Interest in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Decreases By 27.2%

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,350,000 shares, a decrease of 27.2% from the April 30th total of 4,600,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,330,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "underweight" rating for the company. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.38.

Institutional Trading of Novartis

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the company's stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 12,884 shares of the company's stock worth $1,254,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 16,682 shares of the company's stock worth $1,623,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 2.4% during the first quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC now owns 4,438 shares of the company's stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Intergy Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 3.9% during the first quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,757 shares of the company's stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Trading Down 0.5%

NVS stock traded down $0.64 on Tuesday, reaching $116.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,024,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,590,563. The firm has a market cap of $245.17 billion, a PE ratio of 19.74, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.22. Novartis has a 12-month low of $96.06 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $13.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.80 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Novartis will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

About Novartis

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.