Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Downgraded to “Buy” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Novartis (NYSE:NVS) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on NVS. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $104.65 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.91 billion, a PE ratio of 12.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. On average, analysts anticipate that Novartis will post 7.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novartis

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NVS. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 503.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clean Yield Group bought a new position in Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Company Profile

Novartis AG engages in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. The company offers prescription medicines for patients and physicians. It focuses on therapeutic areas, such as cardiovascular, renal and metabolic, immunology, neuroscience, and oncology, as well as ophthalmology and hematology.