Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS – Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $98.94, but opened at $101.83. Novartis shares last traded at $103.24, with a volume of 987,562 shares changing hands.

The company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.16. Novartis had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 23.29%. The business had revenue of $13.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.32 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.56 EPS. Novartis’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Get Novartis alerts:

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on NVS shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. HSBC started coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 14th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Novartis from $75.00 to $85.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novartis

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 514.9% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,461,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,669,000 after buying an additional 7,085,365 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 102,209.0% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,522,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $410,241,000 after buying an additional 4,517,637 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 9,258.8% in the first quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,192,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,696,000 after buying an additional 3,158,005 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 153.4% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,127,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,409,000 after buying an additional 2,498,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 19.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,604,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $699,631,000 after buying an additional 1,235,303 shares in the last quarter. 8.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company’s 50-day moving average is $99.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.09. The company has a market capitalization of $219.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.83, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.55.

About Novartis

(Get Free Report)

Novartis AG researches, develops, manufactures, and markets healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Innovative Medicines and Sandoz. The Innovative Medicines segment offers prescription medicines for patients and physicians. It also provides cardiovascular, ophthalmology, neuroscience, immunology, hematology, and solid tumor products.

Featured Articles

• Five stocks we like better than Novartis
• Green Hydrogen Stocks Getting Ready to Deliver Big Gains
• Charles Schwab Gets The Rebound, Time to Buy?
• Is Ebix Inc a Phygital E-Commerce Contender or Pretender?
• 3 Mid-Cap Stocks with Expectations for High-Earnings Growth
• Can Lockheed Martin Fly To A New High In 2023?

Receive News & Ratings for Novartis Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Novartis and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.