Novartis’ (NVS) “Sell” Rating Reiterated at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated their sell rating on shares of Novartis (NYSE:NVS) in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $118.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $119.00.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $123.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.33.

Novartis Stock Down 2.8%

NVS stock opened at $124.12 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $121.72 and its 200 day moving average is $115.84. The firm has a market cap of $262.19 billion, a PE ratio of 18.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.63. Novartis has a one year low of $96.06 and a one year high of $130.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.94 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 41.08% and a net margin of 25.64%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.97 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Novartis will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Novartis

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Glenview Trust co raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 3,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $460,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Essex Savings Bank increased its holdings in Novartis by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 4,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $558,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in Novartis by 5.8% in the second quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in Novartis by 4.4% during the second quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 0.4% during the second quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 24,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,978,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

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.