Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $77.87, but opened at $82.10. Novo Nordisk A/S shares last traded at $82.46, with a volume of 3,002,681 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $87.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $369.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.45.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.03. Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 34.81% and a return on equity of 84.68%. On average, analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.7874 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a positive change from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is presently 21.88%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 74.7% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 12,994,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,117,790,000 after buying an additional 5,556,460 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the 4th quarter worth approximately $404,910,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 34.2% during the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 11,571,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $995,397,000 after acquiring an additional 2,947,771 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 6,244,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $537,189,000 after acquiring an additional 2,639,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter worth $158,657,000. Institutional investors own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S Company Profile

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.