Erste Group Bank Raises Earnings Estimates for Novartis

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) – Analysts at Erste Group Bank upped their FY2026 EPS estimates for Novartis in a research note issued on Thursday, June 25th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now expects that the company will post earnings of $9.01 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $8.76. The consensus estimate for Novartis’ current full-year earnings is $8.82 per share.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.12). Novartis had a net margin of 24.87% and a return on equity of 38.82%. The business had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.28 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on NVS. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Argus raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.20.

Novartis Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $156.80 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $150.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $299.19 billion, a PE ratio of 22.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.46. Novartis has a 1-year low of $112.34 and a 1-year high of $170.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Institutional Trading of Novartis

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Novartis by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 537,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,935,000 after buying an additional 82,226 shares in the last quarter. BXM Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 726.9% in the fourth quarter. BXM Wealth LLC now owns 42,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,903,000 after acquiring an additional 37,639 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 2,561.0% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 38,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,375,000 after acquiring an additional 37,518 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 113,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,681,000 after acquiring an additional 14,352 shares during the period. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Novartis by 401.0% during the fourth quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 54,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,547,000 after purchasing an additional 43,814 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Company Profile

Novartis is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel that researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and related health-care products. Formed through the 1996 merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, Novartis operates globally and focuses on bringing therapeutics from discovery through clinical development to commercial markets worldwide.

The company’s activities center on innovative pharmaceuticals across several therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience and ophthalmology, alongside capabilities in advanced therapies such as biologics, cell and gene therapies.