Bayesian Capital Management LP Takes Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 10,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,025,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NVS. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Novartis by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,746,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,264,000 after acquiring an additional 54,683 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Novartis by 0.6% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,523,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,082,000 after acquiring an additional 14,686 shares during the period. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD increased its stake in Novartis by 40.1% in the first quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 2,065,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,819,000 after acquiring an additional 590,830 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 53.7% in the first quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,372,000 after acquiring an additional 666,104 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,442,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,599,000 after acquiring an additional 33,791 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $111.64. 46,963 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,464,384. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.19 and a one year high of $112.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business has a 50-day moving average of $106.33 and a 200 day moving average of $102.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $228.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.10, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.57.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.10. Novartis had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The business had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on NVS. Barclays raised shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Novartis from $121.00 to $122.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.13.

Novartis Company Profile

Novartis AG engages in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. The company offers prescription medicines for patients and physicians. It focuses on therapeutic areas, such as cardiovascular, renal and metabolic, immunology, neuroscience, and oncology, as well as ophthalmology and hematology.