Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) have earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the nine brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $123.38.

NVS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price 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.

Institutional Trading of Novartis

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 4.8% in the third quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 2,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its stake in Novartis by 1.7% during the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. FLC Capital Advisors increased its stake in Novartis by 4.4% during the third quarter. FLC Capital Advisors now owns 2,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 2.3% during the third quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 4,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allen Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 1.8% during the third quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $666,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS opened at $106.98 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.04. Novartis has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.67 billion, a PE ratio of 18.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Novartis will post 8.42 EPS for the current year.

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.