Q1 Earnings Estimate for Novartis Issued By Zacks Research

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q1 2027 EPS estimates for shares of Novartis in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $2.43 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $2.08. The consensus estimate for Novartis’ current full-year earnings is $8.45 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Novartis’ Q2 2027 earnings at $2.46 EPS and Q3 2027 earnings at $2.44 EPS.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Cfra set a $126.00 price objective on Novartis and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Novartis from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $119.75.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $163.80 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $346.02 billion, a PE ratio of 22.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.12. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $146.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $133.66. Novartis has a 1 year low of $97.71 and a 1 year high of $167.86.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. Novartis had a net margin of 25.65% and a return on equity of 40.53%. The company had revenue of $13.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.98 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be paid a $4.773 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 312.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.31%.

Institutional Trading of Novartis

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust lifted its position in Novartis by 425.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Novartis during the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

More Novartis News

Here are the key news stories impacting Novartis this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Big pipeline/licensing wins — Novartis struck multiple peptide/macrocyclic licensing agreements that carry up-to-$1.7B–$1.8B upside, boosting long‑term growth and pipeline value. Unnatural Products, Novartis sign license deal worth up to $1.7 billion for cardiovascular program Novartis inks licensing deal worth up to $1.8B for oral peptide drugs
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic divestiture — Novartis agreed to sell its entire ~70.68% stake in its listed Indian unit to a WaveRise/ChrysCapital/Two Infinity consortium, which should generate cash proceeds and simplify the portfolio. Novartis to sell entire 71% stake in Indian unit to consortium of WaveRise Investments
• Positive Sentiment: U.S. manufacturing expansion and political visibility — CEO Vas Narasimhan met with President Trump; Novartis says it is building 11 U.S. plants, a move that supports supply‑chain resilience and could curry regulatory/political goodwill. Trump meets Novartis CEO, says drugmaker building 11 US plants
• Positive Sentiment: Clinical progress — Novartis reported pivotal trial success for a therapy targeting itchy skin conditions, which supports near‑term R&D momentum and potential label/launch upside. Itchy skin conditions? Novartis’ pivotal trial success shows potential for targeted relief
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary — General investor pieces are weighing Novartis’ valuation and pipeline positioning; these provide context but contain no single news item likely to move the stock materially on their own. Where is Novartis AG (NVS) Headed?
• Negative Sentiment: Mixed / lower near‑term analyst estimates — Zacks Research issued a batch of revisions: they trimmed FY2026 and FY2027 targets and cut Q1/Q2 2026 EPS forecasts while raising some later-year estimates. The downward near-term revisions could pressure sentiment despite longer-term upside. (Zacks Research reports, Feb. 18–19)

Novartis Company Profile

Novartis is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel that researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and related health-care products. Formed through the 1996 merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, Novartis operates globally and focuses on bringing therapeutics from discovery through clinical development to commercial markets worldwide.

The company’s activities center on innovative pharmaceuticals across several therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience and ophthalmology, alongside capabilities in advanced therapies such as biologics, cell and gene therapies.