Short Interest in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Increases By 26.3%

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,040,000 shares, a growth of 26.3% from the February 13th total of 3,990,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,770,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on NVS. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS traded up $3.18 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $112.24. The stock had a trading volume of 4,949,377 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,406,182. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $105.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.54. The company has a market capitalization of $229.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Novartis has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Novartis will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novartis

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 89,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,668,000 after purchasing an additional 18,894 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,001,000 after purchasing an additional 5,164 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 135.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 39,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,598,000 after purchasing an additional 22,998 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $239,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Novartis by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 157,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,088,000 after acquiring an additional 18,990 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.