Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $82.62, but opened at $86.43. Novo Nordisk A/S shares last traded at $86.03, with a volume of 2,145,403 shares.

The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 86.32% and a net margin of 35.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NVO shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com lowered Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Novare Capital Management LLC raised its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.2% in the third quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC now owns 2,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.5% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $454,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Spinnaker Trust lifted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.1% in the third quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 9,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,145,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.5% in the third quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC now owns 6,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $798,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carr Financial Group Corp lifted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 5.1% in the third quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp now owns 2,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a 50 day moving average of $92.65 and a 200 day moving average of $112.19. The firm has a market cap of $386.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.84, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.45.

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.