Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Raised to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Novo Nordisk A/S from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a buy rating and a $156.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an overweight rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on Novo Nordisk A/S from $125.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $145.17.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

Novo Nordisk A/S stock opened at $127.51 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $133.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $133.20. The company has a market capitalization of $572.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.97, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.42. Novo Nordisk A/S has a fifty-two week low of $86.96 and a fifty-two week high of $148.15.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $9.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.91 billion. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 87.43% and a net margin of 34.86%. On average, analysts anticipate that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $0.5126 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 45.8% during the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 23,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,378,000 after purchasing an additional 7,430 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the second quarter worth about $728,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 33.3% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 16,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,419,000 after purchasing an additional 4,233 shares in the last quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.2% in the second quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership now owns 201,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,819,000 after acquiring an additional 6,181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the second quarter worth about $457,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.