Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Novo Nordisk's stock gapped up significantly after receiving an upgrade from Rothschild Redburn, changing its rating from hold to strong-buy, and opened trading at $61.84.
• A total of nine research firms have recently provided ratings on Novo Nordisk, resulting in one strong buy, six buy, and eleven hold ratings, indicating a diverse outlook amongst analysts.
• Despite a dividend payout ratio of 22.53%, Novo Nordisk cut its dividend recently, with stockholders receiving $0.4119 per share, like recorded on August 26th.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after Rothschild Redb upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock had previously closed at $58.20, but opened at $61.84. Novo Nordisk A/S shares last traded at $61.89, with a volume of 9,312,905 shares changing hands.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $105.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $81.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. First Hawaiian Bank increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 22,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,556,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 13,597 shares of the company's stock valued at $944,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,314 shares of the company's stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 4,526 shares of the company's stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, 180 Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,014 shares of the company's stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.54% of the company's stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Up 6.3%

The business's fifty day moving average price is $57.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $276.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.00, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 35.60% and a return on equity of 78.64%. The company had revenue of $11.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $77.51 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were given a $0.4119 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. This represents a dividend yield of 240.0%. Novo Nordisk A/S's payout ratio is currently 22.53%.

About Novo Nordisk A/S

Novo Nordisk A/S, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research and development, manufacture, and distribution of pharmaceutical products in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, North America, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Diabetes and Obesity Care, and Rare Disease.