Aigen Investment Management LP Takes Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $225,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Novartis by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 265,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,854,000 after acquiring an additional 41,686 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth $9,365,000. Keybank National Association OH boosted its holdings in Novartis by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 43,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,227,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the period. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its holdings in Novartis by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 99,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,634,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $115.60 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $104.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.29 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92. 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 (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. On average, analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on NVS shares. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. HSBC downgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given 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.com, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

About Novartis

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.