Opal Capital LLC Makes New $1.38 Million Investment in Novartis AG $NVS

Opal Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 9,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,376,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,239,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $928,376,000 after acquiring an additional 117,952 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Novartis by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 537,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,935,000 after acquiring an additional 82,226 shares during the period. BXM Wealth LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 726.9% during the 4th quarter. BXM Wealth LLC now owns 42,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,903,000 after purchasing an additional 37,639 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 2,561.0% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 38,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,375,000 after purchasing an additional 37,518 shares during the period. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 33.3% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,565,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $150.91 on Wednesday. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $112.34 and a 12-month high of $170.46. The company has a market capitalization of $287.95 billion, a PE ratio of 21.62, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a 50 day moving average of $149.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $148.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.11 by ($0.12). Novartis had a net margin of 24.87% and a return on equity of 38.82%. The firm had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.28 earnings per share. Novartis’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.82 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on NVS. Argus raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Novartis to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Novartis has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.20.

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.