Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Trading Up 1% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Novo Nordisk A/S stock was up 1% during trading, closing at $57.51 with approximately 8.6 million shares exchanged, marking a 29% decline from its average daily volume.
• Analyst ratings vary for Novo Nordisk A/S, with two analysts giving a "Strong Buy" rating, while several others have downgraded it, leading to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $77.50.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $0.97 per share, surpassing estimates, and had a revenue of $11.69 billion, significantly exceeding the consensus estimate of $77.51 billion.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) was up 1% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $58.13 and last traded at $57.51. Approximately 8,588,255 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 29% from the average daily volume of 12,145,210 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.93.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on NVO shares. UBS Group downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Rothschild Redb raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Zacks Research raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.50.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $55.44 and a 200-day moving average of $63.11. The company has a market cap of $256.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.68. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 78.64% and a net margin of 35.60%.The business had revenue of $11.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.51 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Novo Nordisk A/S

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,885,343 shares of the company's stock worth $1,303,466,000 after acquiring an additional 63,341 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 12,576,031 shares of the company's stock worth $867,998,000 after purchasing an additional 187,789 shares during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 301,443.6% during the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 10,005,216 shares of the company's stock valued at $690,560,000 after purchasing an additional 10,001,898 shares during the last quarter. Folketrygdfondet raised its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 6.9% during 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 period. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP raised its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 6,192,636 shares of the company's stock valued at $427,416,000 after buying an additional 649,390 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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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