Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Stock Price Up 1.4% – Should You Buy?

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) rose 1.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $49.84 and last traded at $49.5930. Approximately 10,067,749 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 25,088,191 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.93.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on NVO. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. HSBC reissued a “hold” rating and set a $54.00 target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.07.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $53.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.36. The stock has a market cap of $221.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.29 and a beta of 0.67.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.97 billion. Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 33.03% and a return on equity of 68.91%. Equities research analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.2751 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 30th. This represents a yield of 541.0%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is 23.63%.

Institutional Trading of Novo Nordisk A/S

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management grew its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 4,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $463,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Certuity LLC increased its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 5,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Group raised its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 4.3% in the third quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 4,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. lifted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 41.6% in the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 619 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Novo Nordisk A/S

Novo Nordisk A/S is a Danish multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Bagsværd, Denmark, best known for its leadership in diabetes care and metabolic health. The company traces its roots to early Danish insulin production in the 1920s and was established in its current form through a 1989 merger of predecessor companies. Novo Nordisk develops, manufactures and markets pharmaceutical products and devices that address chronic and serious diseases, with a strong emphasis on long-term treatment and patient support.

The company’s core product portfolio centers on diabetes therapies, including a range of insulins and modern incretin-based treatments.