Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Trading Down 7.8% – Here’s What Happened

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) traded down 7.8% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $57.28 and last traded at $57.99. 32,192,935 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 440% from the average session volume of 5,963,203 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NVO. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “underperform” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report 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, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Novo Nordisk A/S has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $135.00.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $260.23 billion, a PE ratio of 17.63, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s 50 day moving average is $76.03 and its 200 day moving average is $92.13.

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

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a yield of 1.2%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Center for Financial Planning Inc. lifted its stake in 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 2,727.3% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, CX Institutional acquired a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Novo Nordisk A/S

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.