Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Short Interest Update

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,510,000 shares, a growth of 39.6% from the March 31st total of 3,230,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,450,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days. Currently, 0.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Up 2.7 %

NVS opened at $114.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. Novartis has a one year low of $96.06 and a one year high of $120.92. The company has a market cap of $241.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.45, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.56. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.13.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $13.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.92 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.80 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Novartis will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.05%.

Institutional Trading of Novartis

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $109,739,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $88,339,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 14,376.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 727,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,079,000 after purchasing an additional 722,272 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Novartis by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,132,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,522,000 after purchasing an additional 399,862 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,668,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,706,000 after purchasing an additional 368,171 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.