Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $77.15, but opened at $79.64. Novo Nordisk A/S shares last traded at $79.60, with a volume of 673,854 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Up 3.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $357.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.21, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.79.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released 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 return on equity of 84.68% and a net margin of 34.81%. On average, research analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This represents a yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.72%.

Institutional Trading of Novo Nordisk A/S

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Center for Financial Planning Inc. raised its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 72.4% during the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 2,727.3% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 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.