Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Trading 6.6% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)’s share price shot up 6.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Hsbc Global Res upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $59.22 and last traded at $59.15. 24,693,063 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 103% from the average session volume of 12,153,879 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.49.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. HSBC set a $70.00 price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $54.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.50.

Institutional Trading of Novo Nordisk A/S

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 184.8% in the 1st quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. North Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S in the first quarter valued at $30,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 174.1% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 444 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Disciplina Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 162.3% during the first quarter. Disciplina Capital Management LLC now owns 480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $55.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $262.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.68.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 78.64% and a net margin of 35.60%.The firm had revenue of $11.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.51 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a $0.4119 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 240.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. Novo Nordisk A/S’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.53%.

About Novo Nordisk A/S

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.