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

Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $134.62 and last traded at $134.6560, with a volume of 151667 shares. The stock had previously closed at $132.57.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on NVS. Bank of America upgraded Novartis from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, December 8th. HC Wainwright downgraded shares of Novartis to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $118.00 target price (down from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, September 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $119.75.

Novartis Trading Up 1.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.88. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $129.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.15. The firm has a market cap of $284.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.52.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.01). Novartis had a net margin of 26.49% and a return on equity of 41.21%. The firm had revenue of $14.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.06 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novartis

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. South Plains Financial Inc. increased its stake in Novartis by 39.0% during the third quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.7% in the 3rd 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 period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Novartis by 0.9% during the 3rd 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 stake in Novartis by 4.3% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 2,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 0.8% during the third 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

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.