Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $140.99 and last traded at $140.8290, with a volume of 345579 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $137.91.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on NVS shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, December 29th. Cfra set a $126.00 price target on Novartis and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Novartis from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $119.75.

Novartis Stock Up 1.5%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.43. The company has a market capitalization of $295.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.13, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.51.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $14.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.70 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 41.21% and a net margin of 26.49%.Novartis’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.06 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novartis

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. South Plains Financial Inc. raised its position in Novartis by 39.0% in the 3rd quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 271 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 1.7% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $611,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 0.9% during the third quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 9,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,205,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.3% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 2,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC now owns 10,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,363,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.