Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Hits New 1-Year High at $112.49

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $112.49 and last traded at $112.10, with a volume of 1054323 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.48.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays upgraded Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Novartis in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Novartis from $121.00 to $122.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.13.

Novartis Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $230.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.23, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.51.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novartis

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 191.1% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,904,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,771,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,318 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 53.7% in the first quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,372,000 after purchasing an additional 666,104 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD lifted 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 buying an additional 590,830 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 99.0% during the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 746,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,661,000 after buying an additional 371,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bankshares Inc acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $32,003,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.