Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 30,290,000 shares, a growth of 5.4% from the May 31st total of 28,730,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 14,410,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

NYSE BMY opened at $40.06 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.21 billion, a PE ratio of -12.92, a P/E/G ratio of 14.21 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 12 month low of $39.63 and a 12 month high of $65.38. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.97.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($4.40) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($4.53) by $0.13. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a positive return on equity of 8.83% and a negative net margin of 13.50%. The company had revenue of $11.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.05 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 0.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.99%. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio is currently -77.42%.

Institutional Trading of Bristol-Myers Squibb

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BMY. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the 4th quarter valued at $1,560,524,000. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 14.1% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 70,203,814 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,807,153,000 after purchasing an additional 8,675,322 shares during the period. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the first quarter valued at $392,608,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 119.8% in the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 12,293,913 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $666,699,000 after purchasing an additional 6,701,097 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 77.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,547,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $680,469,000 after purchasing an additional 5,461,767 shares in the last quarter. 76.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on BMY. Societe Generale lowered shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com downgraded Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $51.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.00.

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.