Non-volatile memory device, in particular phase change memory, and reading method

A non-volatile memory device has a circuit branch associated to a bit line connected to a memory cell. When the memory cell is read, in a precharging step, the bit line is precharged. In a characteristic shift step, the memory cell is activated, and a current source is activated to supply a shift current to the first bit line and cause the bit line to charge or discharge on the basis of the datum stored in the memory cell. In a detection step, the current source is deactivated, the memory cell is decoupled, and the bit line is coupled to an input of a comparator stage that compares the voltage on the bit line with a reference voltage to supply an output signal indicating a datum stored in the memory cell.