Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) Short Interest Up 21.1% in March

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) was the target of a significant 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 shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 11,850,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on BMY. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $63.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bristol-Myers Squibb

In other Bristol-Myers Squibb news, EVP Samit Hirawat acquired 1,823 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $54.84 per share, with a total value of $99,973.32. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 63,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,506,030.88. This trade represents a 2.94 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company 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 business. Park National Corp OH grew its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 20,649 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,259,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1.0% in the first quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 19,296 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,177,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 137.5% during the first quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 475 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 10,031 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $612,000 after purchasing an additional 1,344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 4th quarter worth about $550,000. Institutional investors own 76.41% of the company’s stock.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

BMY stock opened at $59.59 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 1 year low of $39.35 and a 1 year high of $63.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $58.74 and a 200 day moving average of $56.54. The company has a market cap of $121.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.48, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.43.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.20. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a positive return on equity of 13.93% and a negative net margin of 18.53%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 6.74 EPS for the current year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Announces Dividend

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