Ascent Group LLC Takes $426,000 Position in Sanofi $SNY

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC acquired a new stake in Sanofi, purchasing 7,680 shares valued at approximately $426,000.
• Several institutional investors, including RNC Capital Management LLC and Parkwood LLC, have increased their positions in Sanofi, with Parkwood growing its stake by 76.1%.
• Analysts have shown optimism toward Sanofi, with recent upgrades from multiple brokerages resulting in a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $62.67.

Ascent Group LLC purchased a new stake in Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 7,680 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $426,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. RNC Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sanofi by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 6,108 shares of the company's stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 756 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sanofi by 8.8% in the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,057 shares of the company's stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sanofi by 25.1% in the first quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,543 shares of the company's stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Parkwood LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sanofi by 76.1% in the first quarter. Parkwood LLC now owns 450,428 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,980,000 after purchasing an additional 194,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sanofi by 105.5% in the first quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 64,538 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,579,000 after purchasing an additional 33,138 shares in the last quarter. 14.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SNY. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Sanofi in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sanofi from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Sanofi from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Sanofi from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Sanofi from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $56.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $62.67.

Sanofi Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ SNY opened at $47.65 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Sanofi has a 52 week low of $44.73 and a 52 week high of $60.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.01 billion, a PE ratio of 11.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $48.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.21.

Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.96 by ($0.06). Sanofi had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 21.47%.The firm had revenue of $11.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.73 EPS. The company's revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Sanofi will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Sanofi

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.

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