Zacks Research Has Pessimistic View of Novartis Q1 Earnings

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Novartis in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, March 24th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $2.11 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.17. The consensus estimate for Novartis’ current full-year earnings is $8.45 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Novartis’ Q3 2026 earnings at $2.28 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $8.85 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $10.92 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Argus raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.80.

Novartis Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE NVS opened at $150.69 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $318.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.05, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $155.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Novartis has a 52 week low of $97.71 and a 52 week high of $170.46.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,876,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,223,860,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148,033 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,465,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,029,317,000 after purchasing an additional 226,484 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its holdings in Novartis by 1.4% in the second quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 5,581,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $675,427,000 after buying an additional 78,483 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its holdings in Novartis by 13,687.0% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 4,628,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $638,103,000 after buying an additional 4,594,726 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Novartis by 1.7% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,605,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,658,000 after buying an additional 78,390 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th were issued a $4.773 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a yield of 306.0%. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.02%.

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.