Traders Buy High Volume of Bristol Myers Squibb Call Options (NYSE:BMY)

Key Points

• On Wednesday, Bristol Myers Squibb saw **43,898 call options** purchased, marking a **43% increase** in trading volume compared to its average daily volume.
• Analysts have recently lowered ratings for BMY, with **Daiwa Capital Markets** downgrading it from "outperform" to "neutral," setting a target price of **$42.00**.
• Bristol Myers Squibb announced a **quarterly dividend of $0.62**, which will be distributed on November 3rd, reflecting a **5.3% dividend yield**.

Bristol Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders purchased 43,898 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 43% compared to the typical daily volume of 30,728 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMY has been the topic of several analyst reports. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Bristol Myers Squibb from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $42.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley restated a "hold" rating on shares of Bristol Myers Squibb in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup dropped their price target on Bristol Myers Squibb from $51.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Daiwa America lowered Bristol Myers Squibb from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Bristol Myers Squibb from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.38.

Insider Transactions at Bristol Myers Squibb

In other Bristol Myers Squibb news, EVP David V. Elkins sold 56,000 shares of Bristol Myers Squibb stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.33, for a total value of $2,650,480.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 167,379 shares in the company, valued at $7,922,048.07. The trade was a 25.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bristol Myers Squibb

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Bristol Myers Squibb during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bristol Myers Squibb during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bristol Myers Squibb during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Bristol Myers Squibb during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Bristol Myers Squibb by 66.0% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 581 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. 76.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bristol Myers Squibb Price Performance

Shares of BMY stock traded up $1.95 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $47.05. 10,823,464 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,296,756. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.54. The firm has a market cap of $95.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $46.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.86. Bristol Myers Squibb has a fifty-two week low of $42.96 and a fifty-two week high of $63.33.

Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.39. Bristol Myers Squibb had a return on equity of 80.04% and a net margin of 10.58%.The firm had revenue of $12.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Bristol Myers Squibb has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.350-6.650 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bristol Myers Squibb will post 6.74 EPS for the current year.

Bristol Myers Squibb Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Bristol Myers Squibb's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

About Bristol Myers Squibb

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company discovers, develops, licenses, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products worldwide. It offers products for hematology, oncology, cardiovascular, immunology, fibrotic, and neuroscience diseases. The company's products include Eliquis for reduction in risk of stroke/systemic embolism in non-valvular atrial fibrillation, and for the treatment of DVT/PE; Opdivo for various anti-cancer indications, including bladder, blood, CRC, head and neck, RCC, HCC, lung, melanoma, MPM, stomach and esophageal cancer; Pomalyst/Imnovid for multiple myeloma; Orencia for active rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis; and Sprycel for the treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia.

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