Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $77.87, but opened at $82.10. Novo Nordisk A/S shares last traded at $82.46, with a volume of 3,002,681 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $369.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $87.99 and a 200-day moving average of $109.15.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.03. Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 34.81% and a return on equity of 84.68%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.7874 dividend. This is an increase from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is currently 21.88%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $454,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Spinnaker Trust raised its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.1% during the third quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 9,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,145,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.5% during the third quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC now owns 6,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $798,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp grew its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp now owns 2,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,463,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

About Novo Nordisk A/S

Novo Nordisk A/S, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research and development, manufacture, and distribution of pharmaceutical products in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, North America, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Diabetes and Obesity Care, and Rare Disease.