Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . 2,903,060 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 48% from the previous session’s volume of 1,956,747 shares.The stock last traded at $153.9560 and had previously closed at $153.38.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on NVS. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Argus raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.20.

Novartis Stock Up 1.2%

The company has a market capitalization of $295.58 billion, a PE ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company’s 50-day moving average is $148.97 and its 200 day moving average is $149.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.11 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.44 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 38.82% and a net margin of 24.87%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.82 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novartis

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Archer Investment Corp raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 93.0% in the first quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust increased its holdings in Novartis by 425.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 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.