Novartis AG $NVS Shares Sold by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 2.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,462 shares of the company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Tsfg LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 366.0% during the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 233 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the second quarter worth $31,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 66.0% in the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 82.4% in the 2nd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $132.41 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.82. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $123.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.24. The stock has a market cap of $279.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.64. Novartis AG has a one year low of $96.06 and a one year high of $133.37.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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