Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Here's Why

Key Points

• Novartis experienced a trading volume of 1,688,575 shares, a decrease of 8% from the previous session, with its stock price closing at $132.80.
• Analyst ratings for Novartis vary, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $120.33 among different ratings from firms like Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.
• The company reported strong quarterly earnings, with an EPS of $2.42, surpassing estimates and showing a 12.3% revenue increase compared to last year.

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 1,688,575 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 8% from the previous session's volume of 1,845,151 shares.The stock last traded at $132.80 and had previously closed at $131.55.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on NVS shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Novartis from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $123.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $118.00 target price (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $120.33.

Novartis Price Performance

The business's 50-day moving average price is $124.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $117.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market capitalization of $280.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.64.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.04. Novartis had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 41.08%. The company had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.94 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.97 earnings per share. Novartis's revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Novartis

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NVS. StrongBox Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. StrongBox Wealth LLC now owns 5,939 shares of the company's stock worth $762,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Northside Capital Management LLC raised its position in Novartis by 0.9% during the third quarter. Northside Capital Management LLC now owns 29,543 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,789,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Novartis by 1.2% during the third quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,064 shares of the company's stock worth $1,162,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Morris Harris LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth about $256,000. Finally, Old Port Advisors increased its position in shares of Novartis by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 20,701 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,655,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

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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