Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Leerink Partnrs

Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

BMY has been the subject of several other research reports. Leerink Partners raised Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $53.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group raised their target price on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.07.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BMY opened at $59.02 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.70 billion, a PE ratio of -16.44, a PEG ratio of 20.09 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $52.07 and a 200-day moving average of $46.89. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 12 month low of $39.35 and a 12 month high of $61.08.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $11.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.26 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a positive return on equity of 11.94% and a negative net margin of 15.30%. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.00 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 0.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -66.85%.

Insider Activity

In other Bristol-Myers Squibb news, EVP Samit Hirawat purchased 1,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $54.67 per share, for a total transaction of $100,046.10. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 62,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,395,499.03. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Phil M. Holzer sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total value of $38,934.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,760 shares in the company, valued at $654,091.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Samit Hirawat purchased 1,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $54.67 per share, for a total transaction of $100,046.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 62,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,395,499.03. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bristol-Myers Squibb

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BMY. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 61.3% during the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 492 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 76.41% of the company’s stock.

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.