Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Sanofi shares rose 3.2% to $44.43 amid trading volume 67% above the daily average, with 5.7 million shares changing hands.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans neutral: the stock has an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $49.50, compared with one Strong Buy, seven Buys, twelve Holds and one Sell.
• Sanofi reported quarterly revenue of $13.36 billion, up 16% year over year, though earnings fell to $2.41 per share from $3.24; institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.03% of the stock.

Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY - Get Free Report) saw strong trading volume on Friday. 5,696,313 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 67% from the average daily volume of 3,414,580 shares. The stock last traded at $44.4260 and had previously closed at $43.13.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SNY. Weiss Ratings upgraded Sanofi from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Sanofi in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "buy" rating on shares of Sanofi in a report on Monday, August 3rd. DZ Bank restated a "buy" rating on shares of Sanofi in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Sanofi in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $49.50.

Sanofi Stock Up 3.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $107.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $42.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.37.

Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter. Sanofi had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 8.66%. The business had revenue of $13.36 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.24 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Sanofi will post 5.00 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sanofi

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SNY. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC grew its position in Sanofi by 728,134.8% during the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 1,194,305 shares of the company's stock worth $57,542,000 after purchasing an additional 1,194,141 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Sanofi by 11.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,484,350 shares of the company's stock valued at $456,956,000 after acquiring an additional 940,342 shares during the last quarter. Regal Partners Ltd boosted its holdings in Sanofi by 33.2% in the first quarter. Regal Partners Ltd now owns 2,545,432 shares of the company's stock worth $122,639,000 after purchasing an additional 633,782 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Sanofi by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,155,080 shares of the company's stock valued at $152,011,000 after acquiring an additional 470,882 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ADAR1 Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sanofi by 399.3% in the first quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 316,939 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,270,000 after purchasing an additional 253,465 shares during the period. 14.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sanofi Company Profile

Sanofi is a France-based global healthcare company that researches, develops, manufactures and markets prescription medicines and vaccines. Its operations focus primarily on specialty medicines, immunology, rare diseases, neurology, oncology and treatments for rare blood disorders, as well as established pharmaceutical products.

The company's portfolio includes Dupixent, an immunology medicine developed with Regeneron; vaccines for influenza, polio, meningitis and other infectious diseases; and treatments for conditions including multiple sclerosis, hemophilia and certain rare diseases.

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