Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Up 5.5% - What's Next?

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 5.5% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $79.57 and last traded at $79.64. 4,638,015 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 33% from the average session volume of 6,915,415 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.46.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Kepler Capital Markets raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an "underperform" rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $64.00 target price (down from $105.00) on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Guggenheim lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.00.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $353.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.66. The company's 50 day moving average is $66.26 and its 200 day moving average is $80.17.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 84.68% and a net margin of 34.81%. The company had revenue of $11.87 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

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

Novo Nordisk A/S Company Profile

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.