Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) Short Interest Down 28.7% in March

Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY - Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,000,000 shares, a decline of 28.7% from the March 15th total of 5,610,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,730,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days. Currently, 0.2% of the company's stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SNY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Sanofi in a research report on Friday, March 21st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Sanofi in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Sanofi from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Sanofi to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.33.

Institutional Trading of Sanofi

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SNY. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Sanofi by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 56,734 shares of the company's stock worth $3,270,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in Sanofi by 107.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 639,772 shares of the company's stock worth $36,869,000 after purchasing an additional 331,445 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sanofi by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 254,738 shares of the company's stock worth $14,681,000 after buying an additional 16,780 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sanofi by 1,020.5% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 48,430 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,791,000 after buying an additional 44,108 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Sanofi in the third quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.04% of the company's stock.

Sanofi Stock Performance

Sanofi stock traded up $0.96 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $52.81. 1,746,567 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,358,827. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $54.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.11. Sanofi has a 12-month low of $45.80 and a 12-month high of $60.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.46. The stock has a market cap of $133.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.57.

Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70. Sanofi had a return on equity of 25.61% and a net margin of 12.77%. Equities research analysts predict that Sanofi will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

Sanofi Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $2.0369 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a yield of 3.1%. This is an increase from Sanofi's previous annual dividend of $1.48. Sanofi's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.26%.

Sanofi Company Profile

Sanofi, a healthcare company, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of therapeutic solutions in the United States, Europe, Canada, and internationally. It operates through Pharmaceuticals, Vaccines, and Consumer Healthcare segments. The company provides specialty care, such as DUPIXENT, neurology and immunology, rare diseases, oncology, and rare blood disorders; medicines for diabetes and cardiovascular diseases; and established prescription products.