Novartis Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:NVS)

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 38,221 call options on the company. This is an increase of 1,673% compared to the typical volume of 2,156 call options.

Novartis Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NVS opened at $161.64 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $341.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.49. 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 has a 1-year low of $97.71 and a 1-year high of $170.46. The company has a 50-day moving average of $153.38 and a 200 day moving average of $137.80.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $13.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.85 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 25.65% and a return on equity of 40.53%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.98 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Novartis will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be paid a $4.773 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a yield of 295.0%. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is 36.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised shares of Novartis from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Wall Street Zen cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, HSBC restated a “reduce” rating and set a $112.00 price objective on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $119.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novartis

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Novartis by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,876,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,223,860,000 after buying an additional 1,148,033 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,465,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,029,317,000 after acquiring an additional 226,484 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.4% in the second quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 5,581,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $675,427,000 after acquiring an additional 78,483 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its stake in Novartis by 13,687.0% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 4,628,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $638,103,000 after acquiring an additional 4,594,726 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Novartis by 1.7% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,605,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $590,658,000 after acquiring an additional 78,390 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.