Sapient Capital LLC Invests $65.34 Million in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 631,609 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,340,000. Novo Nordisk A/S accounts for 1.7% of Sapient Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 100.3% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 23,419,405 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,129,761,000 after purchasing an additional 11,727,507 shares during the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the 3rd quarter valued at $718,995,000. FMR LLC increased its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 122.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,077,501 shares of the company's stock worth $1,098,328,000 after buying an additional 6,654,614 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 96.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,215,098 shares of the company's stock worth $838,021,000 after buying an additional 4,526,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 91.7% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 9,097,808 shares of the company's stock valued at $827,354,000 after acquiring an additional 4,350,862 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on NVO shares. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $163.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $133.60.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

Shares of NVO traded down $0.97 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $123.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,932,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,905,318. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Novo Nordisk A/S has a one year low of $75.56 and a one year high of $138.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $552.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.43. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $127.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.10.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.05. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 92.21% and a net margin of 36.56%. The firm had revenue of $9.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.14 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.