It's Showtime for Novartis

Novartis (NYSE: NVS  ) is expected to report Q2 earnings on July 17. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Novartis's revenues will expand 0.6% and EPS will decrease -2.9%.

The average estimate for revenue is $14.39 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.34.

Revenue details
Last quarter, Novartis recorded revenue of $14.02 billion. GAAP reported sales were 2.1% higher than the prior-year quarter's $13.91 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Last quarter, non-GAAP EPS came in at $1.32. GAAP EPS of $0.97 for Q1 were 5.4% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.92 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Recent performance
For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 67.7%, 10 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 21.1%, 140 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 16.9%, 70 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $57.46 billion. The average EPS estimate is $5.15.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,461 members out of 1,509 rating the stock outperform, and 48 members rating it underperform. Among 439 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 425 give Novartis a green thumbs-up, and 14 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Novartis is outperform, with an average price target of $73.16.

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