Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Upgraded at BNP Paribas Exane

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating with a price target of $54.00, suggesting an 8.46% upside from its previous close.
• Despite the upgrade, several analysts, including Guggenheim and HSBC, have downgraded their ratings on the stock, indicating a mix of sentiment among investors.
• Novo Nordisk A/S reported earnings of $0.97 per share in its quarterly results, exceeding analyst expectations and showcasing a solid revenue figure of $11.69 billion for the quarter.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at BNP Paribas Exane from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $54.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane's price target would indicate a potential upside of 8.46% from the company's previous close.

Several other analysts also recently commented on NVO. Guggenheim downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. HSBC downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $57.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $64.00 target price (down previously from $105.00) on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen cut Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $83.75.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

NVO stock opened at $49.79 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day moving average is $66.26 and its 200-day moving average is $71.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $222.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.63. Novo Nordisk A/S has a twelve month low of $45.05 and a twelve month high of $139.74.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 120,458 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,314,000 after purchasing an additional 12,641 shares during the last quarter. Foresight Global Investors Inc. acquired a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S in the 2nd quarter valued at about $16,714,000. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 822,677 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,781,000 after purchasing an additional 104,842 shares during the last quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S in the 2nd quarter valued at about $638,000. Finally, Viawealth LLC lifted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. Viawealth LLC now owns 10,956 shares of the company's stock valued at $756,000 after purchasing an additional 925 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 11.54% of the company's stock.

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.

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