Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Receives $116.67 Average Target Price from Analysts

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $116.67.

Several research firms have weighed in on NVS. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Novartis in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays raised Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th.

Novartis Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $106.46 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $102.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $217.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.37, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis has a 12-month low of $92.19 and a 12-month high of $108.78.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $11.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.50 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 32.15% and a net margin of 31.33%. Sell-side analysts expect that Novartis will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novartis

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 16.7% in the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 34,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,482,000 after purchasing an additional 4,897 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 8.8% during the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 13,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,418,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 21.7% during the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 645 shares during the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 7,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $791,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

About Novartis

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.