Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) Short Interest Up 19.5% in February

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in 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 days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:BMY traded up $0.17 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $60.07. 8,303,427 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,133,559. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 52-week low of $39.35 and a 52-week high of $63.33. The stock has a market cap of $121.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $57.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s payout ratio is presently -56.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BMY. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of 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. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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 stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $54.84 per share, with a total value of $99,973.32. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 63,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,506,030.88. The trade was a 2.94 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BMY. Swedbank AB grew its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,139,552 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $162,440,000 after purchasing an additional 28,427 shares during the period. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,108 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 886 shares during the period. United Bank grew its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 17,322 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $896,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 34.9% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 446,364 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $23,095,000 after purchasing an additional 115,361 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 116,801 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,044,000 after purchasing an additional 5,407 shares during the period. 76.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.