Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Hits New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Saturday . The stock traded as low as $77.82 and last traded at $77.94, with a volume of 9865736 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $78.83.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. BNP Paribas upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $349.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.69, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $109.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 34.81% and a return on equity of 84.68%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.7874 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.72%.

Institutional Trading of Novo Nordisk A/S

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cypress Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter valued at about $284,000. Unisphere Establishment grew its holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S by 52.3% during the fourth quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 148,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,774,000 after purchasing an additional 51,000 shares during the period. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter worth approximately $352,000. Guardian Capital LP lifted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Guardian Capital LP now owns 211,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,189,000 after buying an additional 20,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 14,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,227,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the period. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novo Nordisk A/S Company Profile

Novo Nordisk A/S, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research and development, manufacture, and distribution of pharmaceutical products in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, North America, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Diabetes and Obesity Care, and Rare Disease.