Zacks Research Issues Positive Outlook for Novartis Earnings

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) - Equities researchers at Zacks Research lifted their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Novartis in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, November 12th. Zacks Research analyst E. Bagri now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $7.59 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $7.51. The consensus estimate for Novartis' current full-year earnings is $7.61 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Novartis' Q1 2025 earnings at $1.94 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.08 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.06 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $8.89 EPS.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on NVS. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $121.00 price objective (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS stock traded up $0.46 during trading on Thursday, reaching $104.32. The company had a trading volume of 679,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,340,457. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $113.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $109.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Novartis has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92. The company has a market capitalization of $213.23 billion, a PE ratio of 12.15, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.74 EPS.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novartis

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Novartis by 1.3% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 131,045 shares of the company's stock worth $15,073,000 after acquiring an additional 1,730 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.6% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 16,234 shares of the company's stock worth $1,867,000 after buying an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.2% during the third quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 49,957 shares of the company's stock worth $5,746,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the third quarter worth about $779,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 38.4% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 42,759 shares of the company's stock worth $4,918,000 after buying an additional 11,866 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

About Novartis

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.