Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Trading 1% Higher - What's Next?

Key Points

• Novo Nordisk A/S shares increased 1% to a trading price of $59.63, with a notable volume decrease of 21% compared to the average.
• The company's stock ratings have varied, with UBS downgrading it from "buy" to "neutral" while HSBC set a target price of $70.00, amidst a mix of upgrades and downgrades from other analysts.
• Novo Nordisk's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations at $0.97 EPS against forecasts of $0.93, alongside a reported revenue of $11.69 billion.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) shares traded up 1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $60.13 and last traded at $59.63. 9,656,743 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the average session volume of 12,160,092 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.02.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on NVO. UBS Group cut Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. HSBC set a $70.00 price objective on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Berenberg Bank upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered Novo Nordisk A/S from an "overweight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $59.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.50.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $266.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.38, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $54.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.48.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $11.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.51 billion. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 78.64% and a net margin of 35.60%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. North Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 184.8% in the 1st quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 393 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 174.1% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 444 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the period. Finally, Disciplina Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 162.3% during the first quarter. Disciplina Capital Management LLC now owns 480 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company's stock.

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.

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