Wall Street Zen Upgrades Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) to Strong-Buy

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) from "buy" to strong-buy, and the stock traded up roughly 2.1% to open at $60.21 following the report.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed — nine analysts rate BMY a Buy, twelve a Hold and one a Sell — giving a MarketBeat average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $61.71.
• BMY recently missed quarterly EPS ($1.26 vs. $1.65 est.) but beat revenue expectations and set FY2026 guidance of $6.05–$6.35 EPS, while analysts forecast $6.74 for the current fiscal year.

Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued on Sunday.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on BMY. Leerink Partners boosted their price target on Bristol Myers Squibb from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Bristol Myers Squibb in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $72.00 price target on shares of Bristol Myers Squibb in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. HSBC boosted their price target on Bristol Myers Squibb from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Bristol Myers Squibb in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $61.71.

Bristol Myers Squibb Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of BMY opened at $60.21 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $59.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.68. The stock has a market cap of $122.93 billion, a PE ratio of 17.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 0.27. Bristol Myers Squibb has a 12 month low of $42.52 and a 12 month high of $62.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.39). The company had revenue of $12.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. Bristol Myers Squibb had a return on equity of 69.65% and a net margin of 14.64%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. Bristol Myers Squibb has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.050-6.350 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Bristol Myers Squibb will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David V. Elkins sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.67, for a total value of $1,850,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 159,248 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,820,824.16. The trade was a 15.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bristol Myers Squibb

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Bristol Myers Squibb by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 198,727,768 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $10,719,376,000 after buying an additional 2,743,759 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Bristol Myers Squibb by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 97,980,438 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $5,285,065,000 after buying an additional 1,385,206 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Bristol Myers Squibb by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,638,346 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,837,026,000 after buying an additional 6,084,046 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Bristol Myers Squibb in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,947,272,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Bristol Myers Squibb by 172.6% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 25,796,905 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,391,485,000 after buying an additional 16,332,924 shares during the last quarter. 76.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Bristol Myers Squibb

Bristol Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, focused on discovering, developing and delivering medicines for serious diseases. The company's core activities include research and development, clinical development, manufacturing and commercialization of prescription pharmaceuticals across multiple therapeutic areas. BMS concentrates on advancing therapies in oncology, hematology, immunology, cardiovascular disease and specialty areas through both small molecules and biologics.

BMS's marketed portfolio and late‑stage pipeline reflect a strong emphasis on cancer and immune‑mediated conditions.

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