Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $110.77, but opened at $114.35. Novartis shares last traded at $113.39, with a volume of 399,463 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on NVS. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Down 5.8 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $216.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $109.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.05.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. As a group, research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.69%.

Institutional Trading of Novartis

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new position in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Company Profile

Novartis AG engages in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. The company offers prescription medicines for patients and physicians. It focuses on therapeutic areas, such as cardiovascular, renal and metabolic, immunology, neuroscience, and oncology, as well as ophthalmology and hematology.