Short Interest in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) Increases By 19.5%

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in 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 stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 11,600,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BMY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. 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. Citigroup lifted their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Truist Financial lifted their target price 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $63.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.86.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Samit Hirawat acquired 1,823 shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $54.84 per share, for a total transaction of $99,973.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 63,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,506,030.88. The trade was a 2.94 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 28,679 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,622,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Edmp Inc. increased its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Edmp Inc. now owns 41,599 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,353,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 9,423 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 5,690 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,538 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. 76.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:BMY traded down $0.10 on Thursday, reaching $59.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,797,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,103,623. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 12-month low of $39.35 and a 12-month high of $63.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $58.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.79. The firm has a market cap of $121.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.56, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 anticipate that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 6.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently -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.