Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $59.71, but opened at $57.37. Bristol-Myers Squibb shares last traded at $58.87, with a volume of 4,110,314 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on BMY. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group increased their target price on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $63.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bristol-Myers Squibb has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.93.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Performance

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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $57.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.63. The firm has a market cap of $118.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.35, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.45.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.20. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a negative net margin of 15.30% and a positive return on equity of 11.94%. Analysts expect that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 0.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. This is a positive change from Bristol-Myers Squibb’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -69.08%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bristol-Myers Squibb

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the third quarter worth $25,000. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 61.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 492 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1,168.1% during the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 596 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.41% of the company’s stock.

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.