Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?
by Sarita Garza · The Markets DailyNovartis AG (NYSE:NVS – Get Free Report) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 2,903,060 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 48% from the previous session’s volume of 1,956,747 shares.The stock last traded at $153.9560 and had previously closed at $153.38.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several brokerages recently issued reports on NVS. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Argus raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.20.
Novartis Trading Down 0.0%
The company has a market cap of $292.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $148.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $149.16.
Novartis (NYSE:NVS – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.44 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 24.87% and a return on equity of 38.82%. Novartis’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.28 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.82 EPS for the current year.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NVS. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 1.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,239,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $928,376,000 after buying an additional 117,952 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 537,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,935,000 after acquiring an additional 82,226 shares during the last quarter. BXM Wealth LLC increased 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 valued at $5,903,000 after acquiring an additional 37,639 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised its position 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 valued at $5,375,000 after acquiring an additional 37,518 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 197.1% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 22,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,945,000 after acquiring an additional 15,235 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.
Novartis Company Profile
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.