Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued on Monday.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on NVO. UBS Group raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Novo Nordisk A/S from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

NYSE NVO traded up $3.20 on Monday, reaching $64.41. 6,219,187 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,770,231. The stock has a market cap of $289.02 billion, a PE ratio of 19.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 12 month low of $59.32 and a 12 month high of $148.15. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.98.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 84.68% and a net margin of 34.81%. As a group, research analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,492,384 shares of the company's stock worth $1,332,655,000 after buying an additional 1,165,955 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC increased its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 74.7% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 12,994,533 shares of the company's stock worth $1,117,790,000 after acquiring an additional 5,556,460 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 34.2% during the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 11,571,686 shares of the company's stock valued at $995,397,000 after purchasing an additional 2,947,771 shares during the period. Folketrygdfondet boosted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 8,903,938 shares of the company's stock worth $765,917,000 after purchasing an additional 40,313 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 8,312,996 shares of the company's stock valued at $715,084,000 after purchasing an additional 123,681 shares during the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Novo Nordisk A/S

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.