Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Upgraded at Sanford C. Bernstein

Key Points

• Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novartis to a "hold" rating, and the stock's consensus from analysts is currently "Hold" with an average price target of $131.80.
• Novartis beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $2.03 versus $1.99 and revenue of $13.86 billion, and analysts forecast about $8.45 in EPS for the current year.
• Novartis agreed to acquire Synnovation's SNV4818, a pan‑mutant‑selective PI3Kα inhibitor, for $2 billion upfront plus up to $1 billion in milestones, boosting its oncology pipeline.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein to a "hold" rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Novartis from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays raised shares of Novartis from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Novartis from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded shares of Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $131.80.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $145.92 on Thursday. The business's 50-day moving average is $155.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.07. The company has a market capitalization of $308.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.12. Novartis has a fifty-two week low of $97.71 and a fifty-two week high of $170.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. Novartis had a return on equity of 40.53% and a net margin of 25.65%.The business had revenue of $13.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.98 EPS. The company's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Novartis will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Novartis

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust raised 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 acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the third quarter valued at $33,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Novartis News

Here are the key news stories impacting Novartis this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Acquisition boosts oncology pipeline — Novartis agreed to acquire Synnovation’s SNV4818, a pan‑mutant‑selective PI3Kα inhibitor being developed for HR+/HER2‑ breast cancer, for $2B upfront and up to $1B in milestones: a clear long‑term pipeline and revenue growth play. Novartis to buy breast cancer drug candidate from Synnovation
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage consensus supports upside but not unanimously bullish — Analysts aggregate a "Moderate Buy" rating on NVS, which underpins investor confidence but suggests tempered near‑term expectations. Novartis AG NYSE: NVS Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages
• Negative Sentiment: Sector safety alert could drag sentiment — The U.S. FDA flagged a potential seizure risk for certain Parkinson’s drugs and asked manufacturers to add warnings; while not specific to Novartis, the notice weighs on investor appetite for drug stocks and raises regulatory/safety sensitivity in the sector. US FDA flags seizure risk with certain Parkinson's drugs, seeks label warnings

Novartis Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.