Short Interest in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) Expands By 8.0%

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 27,660,000 shares, a growth of 8.0% from the November 30th total of 25,600,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 11,580,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bristol-Myers Squibb

In other news, SVP Phil M. Holzer sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total transaction of $38,934.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $654,091.20. This represents a 5.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Samit Hirawat bought 1,830 shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $54.67 per share, with a total value of $100,046.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 62,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,395,499.03. The trade was a 3.04 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bristol-Myers Squibb

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 44,940,609 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,325,227,000 after acquiring an additional 4,275,787 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 86.3% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 7,546,311 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $313,398,000 after purchasing an additional 3,495,704 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 420.1% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,241,255 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $219,443,000 after purchasing an additional 3,425,789 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 695.1% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,554,758 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $183,971,000 after purchasing an additional 3,107,672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 18.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 19,074,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $986,931,000 after buying an additional 3,002,418 shares in the last quarter. 76.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Performance

Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb stock traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $56.56. 7,344,816 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,999,770. The business has a 50-day moving average of $56.97 and a 200-day moving average of $50.75. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 1 year low of $39.35 and a 1 year high of $61.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.75, a P/E/G ratio of 15.20 and a beta of 0.45.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.31. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a negative net margin of 15.30% and a positive return on equity of 11.94%. The company had revenue of $11.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.00 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This is a positive change from Bristol-Myers Squibb’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio is currently -69.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on BMY shares. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Daiwa America upgraded Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.64.

About Bristol-Myers Squibb

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.