Bristol-Myers Squibb Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:BMY)

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 69,538 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 76% compared to the typical daily volume of 39,405 put options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bristol-Myers Squibb

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vicus Capital lifted its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 3.9% in the third quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 4,824 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 2.3% in the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 8,060 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $468,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 6.6% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 3,120 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $181,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. raised its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. now owns 4,980 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 61.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 525 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 76.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Performance

Shares of BMY opened at $44.20 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99. The firm has a market cap of $89.60 billion, a PE ratio of -14.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 15.39 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.89. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 12-month low of $43.73 and a 12-month high of $69.10.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($4.40) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($4.53) by $0.13. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a positive return on equity of 8.83% and a negative net margin of 13.50%. The firm had revenue of $11.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.45 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.05 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 0.58 EPS for the current year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.43%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 4th. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio is presently -77.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on BMY shares. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Monday, April 1st. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Bank of America lowered shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $51.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.00.

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.