Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,238 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 432 shares during the quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Private Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Clearstead Trust LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 73.5% in the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new position in Novartis during the second quarter worth $29,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Stock Up 0.4 %

NVS stock opened at $116.37 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.93. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.19 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $237.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.70, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $114.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.62.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.10. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. The firm had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on NVS shares. Bank of America cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Barclays raised Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.70.

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.