Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Raised to "Strong-Buy" at StockNews.com

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on NVS. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS traded up $0.88 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $107.73. The company had a trading volume of 1,522,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,966,333. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $100.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.37. The stock has a market cap of $220.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. On average, analysts forecast that Novartis will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Novartis

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 89,074 shares of the company's stock worth $8,668,000 after purchasing an additional 18,894 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 115.3% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 231,792 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,797,000 after acquiring an additional 124,111 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,001,000 after acquiring an additional 5,164 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 135.5% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 39,976 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,598,000 after acquiring an additional 22,998 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $239,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

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.