Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 1,996,513 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the previous session’s volume of 4,300,924 shares.The stock last traded at $107.49 and had previously closed at $111.98.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $160.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.50.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Down 1.1 %

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $124.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $130.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $502.42 billion, a PE ratio of 38.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.06). Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 34.86% and a return on equity of 87.43%. The firm had revenue of $9.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.91 billion. Analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 26th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $0.5126 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a yield of 0.7%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is currently 24.66%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVO. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,589,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,102,857,000 after buying an additional 823,036 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,254,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $607,242,000 after purchasing an additional 58,935 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 654.6% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 3,633,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $466,485,000 after purchasing an additional 3,151,584 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,526,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $419,939,000 after purchasing an additional 36,223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,373,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $304,697,000 after purchasing an additional 172,003 shares in the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.