Short Interest in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) Grows By 21.1%

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 37,010,000 shares, a growth of 21.1% from the February 28th total of 30,570,000 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 11,850,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on BMY shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $63.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased 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 report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.86.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Up 0.1 %

BMY stock opened at $59.59 on Thursday. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a twelve month low of $39.35 and a twelve month high of $63.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.25 billion, a PE ratio of -13.48, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.54.

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, equities analysts predict that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 6.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s payout ratio is -56.11%.

Insider Activity at Bristol-Myers Squibb

In other news, EVP Samit Hirawat bought 1,823 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $54.84 per share, with a total value of $99,973.32. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 63,932 shares in the company, valued at $3,506,030.88. This represents a 2.94 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bristol-Myers Squibb

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,989,525,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 59.9% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 32,079,246 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,814,341,000 after buying an additional 12,011,983 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 701.2% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 12,470,106 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $705,309,000 after acquiring an additional 10,913,708 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 3,880.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,977,505 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $338,088,000 after acquiring an additional 5,827,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the fourth quarter valued at $257,618,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.41% of the company’s stock.

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.