28,899 Shares in Novartis AG $NVS Purchased by Engineers Gate Manager LP

Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 28,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,529,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Highland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 552.0% during the 2nd quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Archer Investment Corp boosted its holdings in Novartis by 93.0% during the first quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CrossGen Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $137.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $154.18 and a 200 day moving average of $153.00. The firm has a market cap of $261.84 billion, a PE ratio of 20.70, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.45. Novartis AG has a one year low of $121.57 and a one year high of $170.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $14.95 billion for the quarter. Novartis had a net margin of 23.29% and a return on equity of 38.56%. As a group, research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Stories Impacting Novartis

Here are the key news stories impacting Novartis this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The stock showed signs of rebounding after its steep selloff, suggesting some investors may view the decline as an overreaction and remain confident in Novartis’s established medicines portfolio. Novartis Rebounds as $30 Billion Wipeout Draws Board Challenge
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are focusing on how Novartis deployed roughly $30 billion in recent deals, as several acquired programs have encountered clinical setbacks. The scrutiny could lead to changes in capital-allocation priorities, deal approval processes or board composition. Focus: Novartis investors turn spotlight on M&A after trial setbacks
• Negative Sentiment: Experimental drug del-desiran failed to produce a statistically significant improvement in a late-stage trial for myotonic dystrophy type 1. The failure removes a potentially important growth asset and adds to concerns about Novartis’s pipeline. Drug Trial Setbacks Raise Questions Over Novartis’s Growth Pipeline
• Negative Sentiment: Del-desiran was the second major trial setback in a short period, contributing to a sharp weekly selloff and making investors question whether acquisitions are generating sufficient pipeline value. Deutsche Bank responded by cutting its view on the stock. Novartis extends selloff as Deutsche Bank cuts on twin drug trial setbacks
• Negative Sentiment: A major shareholder has called for a board shake-up, arguing that stronger oversight is needed after the trial failures and share-price decline. The challenge adds reputational and execution risk for management. Major Novartis shareholder calls for board shake-up after drug trial setbacks

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on NVS shares. HSBC set a $136.00 price objective on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Novartis in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “sector perform” rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $153.00.

Novartis Company Profile

Novartis AG (NYSE: NVS) is a Switzerland-based pharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing innovative medicines. The company’s portfolio addresses major disease areas including cardiovascular, renal and metabolic conditions, immunology, neuroscience, oncology and hematology.

Novartis markets medicines such as Entresto for certain heart conditions, Cosentyx for inflammatory diseases, Kisqali for breast cancer, Kesimpta for multiple sclerosis, Leqvio for cholesterol management, Pluvicto for certain prostate cancers and Scemblix for chronic myeloid leukemia.