Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 6,255,669 shares, a decrease of 17.0% from the March 15th total of 7,533,454 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,834,458 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Novartis Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of Novartis stock traded down $2.31 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $149.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,065,990 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,210,390. Novartis has a 12 month low of $104.93 and a 12 month high of $170.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $157.22 and a 200 day moving average of $142.57. The company has a market capitalization of $285.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. Novartis had a return on equity of 40.53% and a net margin of 25.65%.The company had revenue of $13.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Novartis will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were issued a $4.773 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 306.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 11th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is 43.02%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novartis

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 425.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the third quarter worth about $33,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on NVS shares. Argus upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 5th. DZ Bank downgraded Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novartis to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.20.

Novartis Company Profile

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.