Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Short Interest Update

01 Mar 2026, 20:42 by Sarita Garza · The Markets Daily

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS – Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 7,488,605 shares, a growth of 46.4% from the January 29th total of 5,116,628 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,031,543 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 3,031,543 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Novartis Stock Up 1.9%

NYSE NVS traded up $3.10 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $168.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,195,606 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,674,544. The company has a market capitalization of $356.17 billion, a PE ratio of 23.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Novartis has a 52 week low of $97.71 and a 52 week high of $170.46. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $149.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.82.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $13.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.85 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 40.53% and a net margin of 25.65%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.98 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Novartis will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a $4.773 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a yield of 312.0%. Novartis’s payout ratio is currently 36.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. HSBC restated a “reduce” rating and issued a $112.00 price target on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Novartis from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Novartis from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $119.75.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Novartis

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novartis

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NVS. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Novartis by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,876,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,223,860,000 after acquiring an additional 1,148,033 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,465,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,029,317,000 after purchasing an additional 226,484 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 5,581,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $675,427,000 after purchasing an additional 78,483 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Novartis by 1.7% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,605,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,658,000 after purchasing an additional 78,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Novartis by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,479,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $617,562,000 after purchasing an additional 419,988 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Novartis

(Get Free Report)

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.