Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) Short Interest Up 23.6% in May

Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,560,000 shares, a growth of 23.6% from the May 15th total of 3,690,000 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,740,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $56.00 target price on Sanofi in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating on shares of Sanofi in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Sanofi in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Sanofi in a research report on Friday, March 21st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Sanofi to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.50.

Sanofi Price Performance

NASDAQ:SNY traded down $0.60 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $47.62. The stock had a trading volume of 2,782,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,380,011. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Sanofi has a one year low of $45.80 and a one year high of $60.12.

Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.04. Sanofi had a return on equity of 17.15% and a net margin of 14.56%. The firm had revenue of $10.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. The company's revenue was down 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Sanofi will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sanofi Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $2.0369 dividend. This is a boost from Sanofi's previous annual dividend of $1.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.1%. Sanofi's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sanofi

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Sanofi by 52.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,420 shares of the company's stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 1,869 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its position in Sanofi by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,361 shares of the company's stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,264 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Sanofi by 128.0% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 115,330 shares of the company's stock worth $5,558,000 after purchasing an additional 64,747 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Sanofi by 28.4% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 6,524 shares of the company's stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,443 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sanofi during the 4th quarter valued at about $667,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 14.04% of the company's stock.

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.

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