Traders Buy Large Volume of Novartis Put Options (NYSE:NVS)

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors purchased 10,827 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 337% compared to the typical volume of 2,475 put options.

Novartis Trading Up 5.8%

NVS traded up $8.81 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $160.87. 2,544,580 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,922,448. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Novartis has a one year low of $121.57 and a one year high of $170.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $155.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $306.97 billion, a PE ratio of 24.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.45.

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

More Novartis News

Here are the key news stories impacting Novartis this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Remibrutinib meets Phase III goals: Novartis said the REMODEL-1 and REMODEL-2 trials met their primary endpoints, with remibrutinib significantly reducing annualized relapse rates versus teriflunomide. The drug also performed favorably on secondary measures, including MRI lesion reductions, and a combined analysis indicated a clinically meaningful delay in disability progression. Novartis plans to present detailed data and seek regulatory approvals globally, strengthening the drug’s potential as a future growth product. Novartis’ oral multiple sclerosis drug meets main goal in late stage studies
• Positive Sentiment: Large-market opportunity supports investor optimism: The apparent superiority over an established multiple sclerosis treatment, combined with a favorable safety profile, improves the commercial prospects for remibrutinib and provides a positive read-through for Novartis’ pipeline. Novartis Reported Encouraging Trial Data for a Multiple Sclerosis Drug
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed institutional and options signals: Recent filings show both notable additions and reductions by large investors, while put-option activity was unusually high. These positioning indicators may reflect hedging or heightened volatility rather than a clear change in long-term sentiment.
• Neutral Sentiment: Minor earnings-estimate reduction: Erste Group Bank modestly lowered its FY2027 EPS forecast to $9.80 from $9.82, a change too small to materially alter the investment outlook. Erste Group Bank Forecasts Reduced Earnings for Novartis
• Negative Sentiment: Autoimmune cell-therapy trials paused: Novartis halted eight studies of experimental rap-cel after three patient deaths. The pause creates safety concerns and could delay or reduce the value of this portion of the pipeline, although the impact was overshadowed by the remibrutinib data. Novartis pauses autoimmune cell therapy studies after deaths

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.20.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novartis

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its stake in Novartis by 4,316.2% during the second quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 14,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,312,000 after acquiring an additional 14,416 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 887,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,332,000 after acquiring an additional 54,682 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Novartis by 40.4% during the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 195,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,715,000 after purchasing an additional 56,424 shares during the period. Presilium Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 1st quarter worth $703,000. Finally, Mission Wealth Management LP increased its stake in Novartis by 85.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 19,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,086,000 after purchasing an additional 9,086 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

About Novartis

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.