Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $112.58, but opened at $115.08. Novartis shares last traded at $114.97, with a volume of 270,876 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on NVS shares. Wall Street Zen raised Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $110.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $244.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.67, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.60.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.16. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. The firm had revenue of $13.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.80 EPS. The business's revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novartis

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the first quarter worth about $25,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Tsfg LLC increased its position in shares of Novartis by 366.0% during the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 233 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Human Investing LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. 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.