Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Sees Strong Trading Volume Following Earnings Beat

Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. 1,016,056 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 24% from the previous session’s volume of 1,330,854 shares.The stock last traded at $112.16 and had previously closed at $115.63.

The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. The firm had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.74 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. Bank of America lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 target price (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Institutional Trading of Novartis

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 23.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $788,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389,610 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Novartis by 0.6% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,568,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,473,000 after purchasing an additional 16,015 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD increased its holdings in Novartis by 40.1% in the first quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 2,065,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,819,000 after buying an additional 590,830 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Novartis by 53.7% in the first quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,372,000 after buying an additional 666,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Novartis by 191.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,904,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,771,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,318 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Down 0.6 %

The company has a market capitalization of $224.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $109.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Novartis Company Profile

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.