BNP Paribas Upgrades Novartis (NYSE:NVS) to Strong-Buy

BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novartis (NYSE:NVS) to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

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

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $109.66 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Novartis has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $109.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.38. The stock has a market cap of $224.15 billion, a PE ratio of 18.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.56.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts expect that Novartis will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novartis

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CRA Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Novartis during the first quarter valued at $209,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.7% during the first quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 3,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE bought a new stake in Novartis in the first quarter valued at $5,350,000. Finally, Osprey Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 1st quarter worth about $733,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.