Novo Nordisk A/S Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:NVO)

Key Points

• Novo Nordisk A/S experienced a significant increase in options trading, with 114,837 call options acquired, which is a 94% rise compared to the average daily volume.
• The company's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $0.97, exceeding the expected $0.93, and it reported a net margin of 35.60%.
• Novo Nordisk announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.4119 per share, with investors of record receiving payment on August 18th.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 114,837 call options on the company. Thisrepresentsanincreaseof94% compared to the average daily volume of 59,163 call options.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVO opened at $52.43 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $234.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.40, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.63. Novo Nordisk A/S has a one year low of $45.05 and a one year high of $139.74. The company's fifty day moving average is $64.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.78.

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

Novo Nordisk A/S Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $0.4119 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a yield of 240.0%. Novo Nordisk A/S's payout ratio is presently 45.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. HSBC cut shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $57.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group cut shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MayTech Global Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. MayTech Global Investments LLC now owns 410,241 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,662,000 after acquiring an additional 22,710 shares during the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the 2nd quarter worth about $315,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 1,544.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 143,241 shares of the company's stock worth $9,886,000 after purchasing an additional 134,532 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,933 shares of the company's stock worth $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Finally, Binnacle Investments Inc grew its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 126.2% during the 2nd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 1,190 shares of the company's stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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