Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Novartis (NYSE:NVS)

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors bought 54,767 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 2,389% compared to the average volume of 2,200 call options.

Novartis Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $111.48 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $104.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $227.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. Novartis has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Novartis will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novartis

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Human Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on NVS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Novartis has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

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.