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 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 trading volume, of 11,600,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Bristol-Myers Squibb

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 stock was bought at an average price of $54.84 per share, with a total value of $99,973.32. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 63,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,506,030.88. The trade was a 2.94 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bristol-Myers Squibb

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the third quarter valued at $29,000. 76.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

Shares of BMY traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $59.94. 9,967,207 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,160,088. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 52-week low of $39.35 and a 52-week high of $63.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90. The company has a market cap of $121.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $57.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.69.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.14%. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s payout ratio is currently -56.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on BMY. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company 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 price target for the company from $63.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $57.86.

About Bristol-Myers Squibb

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.