Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) Short Interest Update

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 25,770,000 shares, an increase of 10.0% from the October 31st total of 23,420,000 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 11,080,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMY has been the topic of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.07.

Insider Activity at Bristol-Myers Squibb

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 61.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 492 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1,168.1% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 596 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.41% of the company’s stock.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Down 0.6 %

BMY stock traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $58.35. 5,115,634 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,173,604. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.08 and a beta of 0.45. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $54.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.49. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 12-month low of $39.35 and a 12-month high of $61.08.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $11.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.26 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a negative net margin of 15.30% and a positive return on equity of 11.94%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.00 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 0.93 EPS for the current year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s payout ratio is currently -66.85%.

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.