Wellington Management Group LLP Invests $1.73 Million in Novartis AG $NVS

Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 11,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,731,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NVS. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Novartis by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 10,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Roundview Capital LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 2,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. CPC Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. CPC Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. now owns 710 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 1,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $282,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $137.22 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $261.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $154.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.00. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $121.57 and a fifty-two week high of $170.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $14.95 billion during the quarter. Novartis had a net margin of 23.29% and a return on equity of 38.56%. Equities analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.84 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Novartis in a report on Tuesday. They set a “sector perform” rating for the company. HSBC set a $136.00 target price on Novartis in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $153.00.

Key Novartis News

Here are the key news stories impacting Novartis this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The stock showed signs of rebounding after its steep selloff, suggesting some investors may view the decline as an overreaction and remain confident in Novartis’s established medicines portfolio. Novartis Rebounds as $30 Billion Wipeout Draws Board Challenge
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are focusing on how Novartis deployed roughly $30 billion in recent deals, as several acquired programs have encountered clinical setbacks. The scrutiny could lead to changes in capital-allocation priorities, deal approval processes or board composition. Focus: Novartis investors turn spotlight on M&A after trial setbacks
• Negative Sentiment: Experimental drug del-desiran failed to produce a statistically significant improvement in a late-stage trial for myotonic dystrophy type 1. The failure removes a potentially important growth asset and adds to concerns about Novartis’s pipeline. Drug Trial Setbacks Raise Questions Over Novartis’s Growth Pipeline
• Negative Sentiment: Del-desiran was the second major trial setback in a short period, contributing to a sharp weekly selloff and making investors question whether acquisitions are generating sufficient pipeline value. Deutsche Bank responded by cutting its view on the stock. Novartis extends selloff as Deutsche Bank cuts on twin drug trial setbacks
• Negative Sentiment: A major shareholder has called for a board shake-up, arguing that stronger oversight is needed after the trial failures and share-price decline. The challenge adds reputational and execution risk for management. Major Novartis shareholder calls for board shake-up after drug trial setbacks

About Novartis

Novartis AG (NYSE: NVS) is a Switzerland-based pharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing innovative medicines. The company’s portfolio addresses major disease areas including cardiovascular, renal and metabolic conditions, immunology, neuroscience, oncology and hematology.

Novartis markets medicines such as Entresto for certain heart conditions, Cosentyx for inflammatory diseases, Kisqali for breast cancer, Kesimpta for multiple sclerosis, Leqvio for cholesterol management, Pluvicto for certain prostate cancers and Scemblix for chronic myeloid leukemia.