Novartis "overweight," target price raised

20.07.07 - J.P. Morgan Securities

LONDON, July 20 (newratings.com) - Analysts at JP Morgan maintain their "overweight" rating on Novartis (NOT), while raising their estimates for the company. The target price has been raised from SFr73 to SFr77.

In a research note published this morning, the analysts mention that the company?s embedded value is estimated at 104% of market capitalization. Even after taking the most pessimistic stance, Novartis? embedded value stands at 97%, which is the best in the European large cap space, the analysts say. The EPS estimates for 2007 and 2008 have been raised from $3.69 to $3.73 and from $3.97 to $4.03, respectively.