Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $140.18 and last traded at $139.6330, with a volume of 404060 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $136.87.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on NVS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Novartis from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, December 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $118.00 price objective (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Novartis from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $119.75.

Novartis Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $129.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $293.58 billion, a PE ratio of 18.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.52.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.01). Novartis had a return on equity of 41.21% and a net margin of 26.49%.The company had revenue of $14.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.06 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Novartis

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Novartis by 60.3% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,660,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $408,071,000 after acquiring an additional 1,377,252 shares in the last quarter. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 12,664.1% during the first quarter. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC now owns 1,383,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $154,204,000 after purchasing an additional 1,372,407 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 77.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,648,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,362,000 after purchasing an additional 720,860 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the third quarter worth $64,563,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 85.0% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,045,191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,035,000 after purchasing an additional 480,201 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.