Erste Group Bank Forecasts Higher Earnings for Novartis

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) – Equities research analysts at Erste Group Bank raised their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Novartis in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, June 25th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now forecasts that the company will earn $9.01 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $8.76. The consensus estimate for Novartis’ current full-year earnings is $8.82 per share.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on NVS. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novartis to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Argus raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.20.

Novartis Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NVS opened at $156.80 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $299.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.46, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.01. Novartis has a twelve month low of $112.34 and a twelve month high of $170.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.11 by ($0.12). Novartis had a return on equity of 38.82% and a net margin of 24.87%.The firm had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novartis

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Novartis by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 537,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,935,000 after buying an additional 82,226 shares during the last quarter. BXM Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 726.9% in the 4th quarter. BXM Wealth LLC now owns 42,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,903,000 after buying an additional 37,639 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 2,561.0% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 38,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,375,000 after buying an additional 37,518 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 113,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,681,000 after acquiring an additional 14,352 shares during the period. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Novartis by 401.0% during the fourth quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 54,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,547,000 after acquiring an additional 43,814 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.