Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Upgraded at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Novartis (NYSE:NVS) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 3rd. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, November 10th. HC Wainwright cut Novartis to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Novartis from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and set a $118.00 target price (down from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, September 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $119.75.

Novartis Trading Down 0.3%

NVS opened at $141.54 on Tuesday. Novartis has a 12-month low of $97.39 and a 12-month high of $143.49. 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 market capitalization of $298.99 billion, a PE ratio of 19.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $132.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.82.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $14.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.70 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 41.21% and a net margin of 26.49%.Novartis’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.06 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Novartis will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novartis

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. GFG Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 66.0% during the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

About Novartis

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.