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Novartis (NVS) Stock Flat Ahead of Earnings: What To Watch

Shares of Novartis (NVS) added just 0.14% during regular hours Tuesday, the last day of trading before the pharma giant releases its latest quarterly earnings report. Here's what to expect tomorrow morning.

Shares of Novartis NVS added just 0.14% during regular hours Tuesday, the last day of trading before the pharma giant releases its latest quarterly earnings report. Investors clearly displayed some apathy ahead of the report, but we will definitely want to keep a close eye on this stock throughout the day Wednesday.

Johnson & Johnson JNJ kicked off the big pharma earnings season Tuesday, with quarterly revenue and adjusted profits topping expectations on the back of strength from new treatments for cancer and multiple myeloma.

Now, the attention will shift to Novartis, a major player in the global pharmaceuticals business. Novartis has a broad portfolio of drugs, especially in the oncology and neuroscience fields, so its report should give investors a valuable read on the state of the industry right now.

According to our latest Zacks Consensus Estimates, analysts expect Novartis to report adjusted earnings of $1.27 per share and revenue of $12.73 billion. These results would represent year-over-year growth of 5% and 4%, respectively.

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Investors should note that Novartis’ consensus earnings projection has trended downward—to the tune of minus four cents—in the past week. This slumping estimate trend is not particularly encouraging, although the stock does still have a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Looking at share price performance, NVS has slumped about 5.5% in the past year. Nevertheless, shares have started to show signs of life recently, gaining about 6% in the past month.

A strong earnings beat might be what NVS needs in order to start generating more positive momentum. To gauge how likely the company is to outperform estimates tomorrow morning, we can turn to our exclusive Earnings ESP figure.

Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter. The Most Accurate Estimate is a version of the Zacks Consensus whose definition is related to change.

This is done because, generally speaking, when an analyst posts an estimate right before an earnings release, it means that they have fresh information which could potentially be more accurate than what analysts thought about a company two or three months ago.

A positive Earnings ESP paired with a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better ranking helps us feel confident about the potential for an earnings beat. In fact, our 10-year backtest has revealed that this methodology has accurately produced a positive surprise 70% of the time.

Want more market analysis from this author? Make sure to follow @Ryan_McQueeney on Twitter!

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