Novartis "overweight," estimates raised

04/26/07 - Prudential Financial

NEW YORK, April 26 (newratings.com) - Analyst Tim Anderson of Prudential Financial maintains his "overweight" rating on Novartis AG (NVS), while raising his estimates for the company. The target price is set to $64.

In a research note published this morning, the analyst mentions that the company has reported its 1Q EPS ahead of the estimates and the consensus. Although Novartis has faced setbacks related to its Galvus and Zelnorm drugs in the recent past, the company still has potential to generate average revenue and earnings growth ahead of that of its peers in the longer term, the analyst says. The EPS estimates for FY07 and FY08 have been raised from $3.27 to $3.31 and from $3.65 to $3.66, respectively, to reflect lower spending and higher net financial income.