Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) Short Interest Up 19.5% in February

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 30,570,000 shares, a growth of 19.5% from the February 13th total of 25,590,000 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 11,600,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BMY has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $63.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.86.

Insider Transactions at Bristol-Myers Squibb

In other Bristol-Myers Squibb news, EVP Samit Hirawat purchased 1,823 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $54.84 per share, for a total transaction of $99,973.32. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 63,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,506,030.88. The trade was a 2.94 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bristol-Myers Squibb

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMY. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. 76.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb stock traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $60.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,303,427 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,133,559. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $57.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.76. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a one year low of $39.35 and a one year high of $63.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $121.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.43.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.20. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a negative net margin of 18.53% and a positive return on equity of 13.93%. On average, analysts predict that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 6.74 EPS for the current year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.13%. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -56.11%.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Profile

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company discovers, develops, licenses, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products worldwide. It offers products for hematology, oncology, cardiovascular, immunology, fibrotic, and neuroscience diseases. The company's products include Eliquis for reduction in risk of stroke/systemic embolism in non-valvular atrial fibrillation, and for the treatment of DVT/PE; Opdivo for various anti-cancer indications, including bladder, blood, CRC, head and neck, RCC, HCC, lung, melanoma, MPM, stomach and esophageal cancer; Pomalyst/Imnovid for multiple myeloma; Orencia for active rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis; and Sprycel for the treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia.