Apexium Financial LP Acquires 469 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Apexium Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 21.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,613 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the period. Apexium Financial LP’s holdings in Novartis were worth $316,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $266,000. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in Novartis by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 47,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,311,000 after purchasing an additional 6,849 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,909,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Novartis by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 33,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,710,000 after purchasing an additional 3,126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 3,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Up 1.1%

NVS stock opened at $132.41 on Friday. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $96.06 and a twelve month high of $133.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market cap of $279.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50 day moving average of $123.57 and a 200 day moving average of $117.22.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NVS. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $118.00 target price (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Morgan Stanley raised Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $123.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Novartis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.33.

Novartis 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.