Short Interest in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Grows By 26.3%

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,040,000 shares, a growth of 26.3% from the February 13th total of 3,990,000 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,770,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $109,739,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $88,339,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,132,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,522,000 after purchasing an additional 399,862 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,668,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,706,000 after purchasing an additional 368,171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,908,000 after purchasing an additional 296,950 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of Novartis stock traded up $3.18 during trading on Monday, reaching $112.24. 4,949,377 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,406,182. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Novartis has a 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $105.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $229.41 billion, a PE ratio of 19.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Novartis will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NVS shares. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. HSBC lowered shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

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.