Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) Short Interest Down 28.7% in March

Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,000,000 shares, a drop of 28.7% from the March 15th total of 5,610,000 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,730,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on SNY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Sanofi to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Sanofi in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Sanofi from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Sanofi in a research report on Friday, March 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sanofi

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SNY. Abel Hall LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sanofi by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 10,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $530,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Sanofi by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 69,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,827,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Sanofi by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 9,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $542,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Sanofi by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 55,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,653,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keudell Morrison Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Sanofi by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 12,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $624,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. 14.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sanofi Stock Performance

SNY stock opened at $50.90 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $54.79 and a 200-day moving average of $52.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Sanofi has a 12-month low of $45.22 and a 12-month high of $60.12. The firm has a market cap of $128.59 billion, a PE ratio of 20.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.57.

Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70. Sanofi had a net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 25.61%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sanofi will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Sanofi Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $2.0369 per share. This is an increase from Sanofi’s previous annual dividend of $1.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.1%. Sanofi’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.04%.

Sanofi Company Profile

Sanofi, a healthcare company, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of therapeutic solutions in the United States, Europe, Canada, and internationally. It operates through Pharmaceuticals, Vaccines, and Consumer Healthcare segments. The company provides specialty care, such as DUPIXENT, neurology and immunology, rare diseases, oncology, and rare blood disorders; medicines for diabetes and cardiovascular diseases; and established prescription products.