Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts' consensus: Fourteen firms rate Sanofi at an average recommendation of “Hold” (nine Hold, five Buy) with a 12-month average price target of about $62.67.
• Stock snapshot: Shares opened at $45.00 and are trading below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages (~$47.39 and $48.51), with a market capitalization of roughly $109.8 billion and a P/E of 12.5.
• Institutional activity: Several large managers increased positions—Morgan Stanley boosted its stake by 20.4% to 9.1M shares—and institutional/hedge fund ownership stands at about 14.03%.

Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $62.6667.

A number of brokerages have commented on SNY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Sanofi in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Sanofi from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Sanofi in a report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Sanofi in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Sanofi from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st.

Sanofi Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SNY opened at $45.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $47.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.76 billion, a PE ratio of 12.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.45. Sanofi has a 52 week low of $44.62 and a 52 week high of $60.12.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sanofi

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SNY. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Sanofi by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,102,196 shares of the company's stock worth $441,093,000 after buying an additional 1,540,271 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Sanofi by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,110,874 shares of the company's stock worth $296,133,000 after acquiring an additional 313,327 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sanofi by 81.3% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 5,879,894 shares of the company's stock worth $284,058,000 after acquiring an additional 2,635,867 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Sanofi by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,100,097 shares of the company's stock valued at $247,151,000 after purchasing an additional 1,168,339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD increased its stake in shares of Sanofi by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 4,495,348 shares of the company's stock worth $217,845,000 after purchasing an additional 856,742 shares during the period. 14.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sanofi

Sanofi NASDAQ: SNY is a multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in France that researches, develops, manufactures and markets prescription medicines, vaccines and consumer healthcare products. The company operates across multiple therapeutic areas, including immunology, rare diseases, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, and vaccines through its Sanofi Pasteur division. Sanofi sells products to hospitals, clinics, governments and retail pharmacies, with a broad global footprint and significant presence in Europe, North America and emerging markets.

Key commercial offerings include specialty biologics and established small-molecule medicines.

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