Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the sixteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $141.20.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novartis

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NVS. First Bancorp Inc ME acquired a new position in Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $57,000. Dearborn Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,378,000. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at $651,000. Somerville Kurt F purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,636,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the second quarter worth $7,282,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Up 0.9%

Novartis stock opened at $152.18 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $290.38 billion, a PE ratio of 22.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $153.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.42. Novartis has a one year low of $121.57 and a one year high of $170.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $14.95 billion during the quarter. Novartis had a net margin of 23.29% and a return on equity of 38.56%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Novartis will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.