Apollon Wealth Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,919 shares of the company’s stock after selling 494 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,256,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Clearstead Trust LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 73.5% in the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the second quarter worth $29,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the second quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Novartis Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:NVS opened at $103.41 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.01, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $113.67 and its 200-day moving average price 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 (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.61 EPS for the current year.

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.