Sanofi Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:SNY)

Key Points

• Sanofi saw unusually heavy options activity on Thursday, with traders buying 3,002 call options, about 49% above the stock’s average call volume.
• Wall Street sentiment remains mixed: Sanofi has two Strong Buy, three Buy, and ten Hold ratings, with an average analyst rating of Hold and an average price target of $49.50.
• The stock rose to $43.60 in midday trading, and the company recently boosted its annual dividend from $2.04 to $2.4225 per share.

Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 3,002 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 49% compared to the average volume of 2,020 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sanofi

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SNY. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sanofi during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sanofi by 180.5% during the first quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 589 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG lifted its stake in shares of Sanofi by 95.8% in the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 607 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sanofi during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in Sanofi during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. 14.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on SNY. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Sanofi in a research note on Monday, April 13th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Sanofi from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, April 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Sanofi to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Argus raised shares of Sanofi to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sanofi from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $49.50.

Sanofi Price Performance

Sanofi stock traded up $0.82 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $43.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,378,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,635,968. Sanofi has a 52 week low of $40.89 and a 52 week high of $52.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $43.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.72. The stock has a market cap of $105.71 billion, a PE ratio of 12.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.34.

Sanofi Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a $2.4225 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 559.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This is an increase from Sanofi's previous annual dividend of $2.04. Sanofi's dividend payout ratio is 49.16%.

Sanofi Company Profile

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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