Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Hits New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Barclays upgraded the stock from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating. The stock traded as high as $140.99 and last traded at $140.8290, with a volume of 345579 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $137.91.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on NVS. Bank of America upgraded Novartis from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. HSBC restated a “reduce” rating and set a $112.00 price objective on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. HC Wainwright downgraded shares of Novartis to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $119.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novartis

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GFG Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $132.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.72. The company has a market cap of $299.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.51.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.01). Novartis had a net margin of 26.49% and a return on equity of 41.21%. The firm had revenue of $14.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.06 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Company Profile

Novartis is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel that researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and related health-care products. Formed through the 1996 merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, Novartis operates globally and focuses on bringing therapeutics from discovery through clinical development to commercial markets worldwide.

The company’s activities center on innovative pharmaceuticals across several therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience and ophthalmology, alongside capabilities in advanced therapies such as biologics, cell and gene therapies.