Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) Short Interest Down 18.2% in August

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 43,760,000 shares, a decrease of 18.2% from the August 15th total of 53,510,000 shares. Approximately 2.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 9,890,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $87.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Friday. StockNews.com lowered Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 1st. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bristol-Myers Squibb

In other news, EVP Ann Powell sold 17,986 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.25, for a total value of $1,101,642.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,706,915. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Robert M. Plenge sold 732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.14, for a total value of $44,754.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $402,545.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Ann Powell sold 17,986 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.25, for a total value of $1,101,642.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,868 shares in the company, valued at $1,706,915. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bristol-Myers Squibb

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwest Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the second quarter worth about $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.98% of the company’s stock.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

Bristol-Myers Squibb stock opened at $58.58 on Tuesday. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 12-month low of $58.33 and a 12-month high of $81.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $122.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $61.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.11.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $11.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.81 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a net margin of 17.62% and a return on equity of 50.51%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 7.44 earnings per share for the current year.

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, an oral inhibitor for reduction in risk of stroke/systemic embolism in NVAF, and for the treatment of DVT/PE; Opdivo for anti-cancer indications; Pomalyst/Imnovid indicated for patients with multiple myeloma; Orencia for adult patients with active RA and psoriatic arthritis; and Sprycel for the treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia.