Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $67.35, but opened at $70.81. Novo Nordisk A/S shares last traded at $70.65, with a volume of 2,548,211 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating on the stock. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an "underperform" rating for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $135.00.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Up 2.8%

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $65.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.01. The company has a market capitalization of $320.41 billion, a PE ratio of 21.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.92. Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 34.81% and a return on equity of 84.68%. The business had revenue of $11.87 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,492,384 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,332,655,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165,955 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 74.7% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 12,994,533 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,117,790,000 after purchasing an additional 5,556,460 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 34.2% during the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 11,571,686 shares of the company's stock valued at $995,397,000 after purchasing an additional 2,947,771 shares in the last quarter. Folketrygdfondet increased its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 9,521,912 shares of the company's stock worth $661,202,000 after buying an additional 617,974 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 8,312,996 shares of the company's stock worth $715,084,000 after buying an additional 123,681 shares during the period. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.