Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $77.15, but opened at $79.64. Novo Nordisk A/S shares last traded at $79.60, with a volume of 673,854 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NVO shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $83.81 and its 200 day moving average is $101.98. The firm has a market cap of $363.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 34.81% and a return on equity of 84.68%. Analysts anticipate that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NVO. Center for Financial Planning Inc. grew its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 72.4% during the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 2,727.3% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Company Profile

Novo Nordisk A/S, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research and development, manufacture, and distribution of pharmaceutical products in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, North America, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Diabetes and Obesity Care, and Rare Disease.