Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Reaches New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Novartis' stock reached a new 52-week high, trading at $133.55, demonstrating significant investor interest with a volume of over 1.3 million shares traded.
• Analyst ratings for Novartis are mixed, with an overall consensus rating of "Hold" and a price target averaging around $120.33, reflecting varied outlooks from brokerages.
• The company reported a quarterly revenue of $14.05 billion, exceeding estimates and marking a year-over-year increase of 12.3%, alongside earnings per share of $2.42.

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $133.55 and last traded at $132.35, with a volume of 1376809 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $132.39.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NVS. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of 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. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "sell" rating and issued a $118.00 target price (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, September 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $120.33.

Novartis Stock Down 0.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $279.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.64. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $123.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $117.38.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.04. Novartis had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 41.08%. The business had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.94 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.97 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Novartis

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NVS. Glenview Trust co raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 3,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $460,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Essex Savings Bank increased its position in shares of Novartis by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 4,611 shares of the company's stock valued at $558,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Novartis by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,541 shares of the company's stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in shares of Novartis by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,062 shares of the company's stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in shares of Novartis by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 24,607 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,978,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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