Novartis (NVS) saw its IBD SmartSelect Composite Rating jump to 96 Wednesday, up from 93 the day before. The new score indicates that shares of the company, which is No. 1 in its industry group, are now outperforming 96% of all stocks in terms of the most important fundamental and technical stock-picking criteria.
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Novartis stock is currently forming a cup with handle base, with a 112.98 buy point. Look for the stock to break out in volume at least 40% above average. Wednesday the drugmaker
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The stock also sports an 89 EPS Rating, which means its recent quarterly and longer-term annual earnings growth is outpacing 89% of all stocks. Its Accumulation/Distribution Rating of A shows heavy buying by institutional investors, such as mutual funds and pension funds, over the last 13 weeks.
The Swiss company posted a 29% increase in earnings for Q4, to $1.29 per share. That marks two straight reports with rising EPS growth. Sales increased 15% year over year to $13.6 billion, up from 9% growth the prior quarter. Novartis is expected to report first quarter results on or around April 29.
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Novartis earns the No. 1 rank among its peers in the 33-stock Medical-Ethical Drugs industry group. Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) and Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ) are also among the group's highest-rated stocks.
This article was created automatically with Stats Perform's Wordsmith software using data and article templates supplied by Investor's Business Daily. An IBD journalist may have edited the article.
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