Novartis downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citi

Citi analyst Andrew Baum downgraded Novartis (NVS) to Neutral from Buy with a CHF 86 price target. The shares have outperformed all European pharma majors except Novo Nordisk (NVO) and AstraZeneca (AZN) due to the impact of management action in the last six months, aided by some rotation out of Roche (RHHBY), the analyst tells investors in a research note. Citi reduced Novartis earnings estimates to by up to 8% to reflect a more cautious outlook for Leqvio given competitive pressures from Merck’s (MRK) oral PCSK-9 MK-0616 in the U.S. commercial and outside the U.S. market. The firm also highlights material ongoing supply constraints hindering Pluvicto’s U.S. launch in prostate cancer.