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

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 30,570,000 shares, an increase of 19.5% from the February 13th total of 25,590,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 11,600,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days. Approximately 1.5% of the company's shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BMY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Bristol-Myers Squibb from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $63.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $57.86.

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Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

BMY stock traded up $0.64 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $61.06. 25,864,960 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,180,118. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.89. The company has a market cap of $123.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.82, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.43. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 1-year low of $39.35 and a 1-year high of $63.33. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, analysts anticipate that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.06%. Bristol-Myers Squibb's dividend payout ratio is currently -56.11%.

Insider Activity

In other Bristol-Myers Squibb news, EVP Samit Hirawat purchased 1,823 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $54.84 per share, with a total value 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. This represents a 2.94 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 28,679 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,622,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Edmp Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 0.4% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Trust Point Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 9,423 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 5,690 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,538 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. 76.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.