Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Hits New 52-Week High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $154.66 and last traded at $154.3920, with a volume of 513427 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $149.86.

The company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.06. Novartis had a return on equity of 41.21% and a net margin of 26.49%.The firm had revenue of $13.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.98 earnings per share. Novartis’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on NVS shares. Cfra Research raised Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Barclays raised Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, November 10th. HC Wainwright cut shares of Novartis to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $119.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novartis

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Novartis by 77.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,648,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,362,000 after purchasing an additional 720,860 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at $64,563,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 85.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,045,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,035,000 after buying an additional 480,201 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,121,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $861,762,000 after buying an additional 358,282 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Novartis by 52.9% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 876,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,120,000 after acquiring an additional 303,553 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $325.79 billion, a PE ratio of 21.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $139.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.20.

About Novartis

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.