What Happened?
Shares of biopharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) jumped 3.7% in the afternoon session after BofA Securities upgraded the company's stock from "Neutral" to "Buy" and increased its price target.
The firm raised its price target to $61 from $52, pointing to the strength of Bristol-Myers Squibb's research and development pipeline. BofA noted it expected key progress from four to six programs in the near term. This move followed another recent upgrade from Guggenheim, which also raised its rating to "Buy." Adding to the positive news, the company recently announced a 1.6% increase in its quarterly dividend. Furthermore, the U.S. FDA granted approval to Breyanzi, the company's CAR T cell therapy for treating certain types of cancer.
After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $54.37, up 3.7% from previous close.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Bristol-Myers Squibb’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 6 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 3 days ago when the stock gained 2.6% on the news that an analyst at Guggenheim upgraded the company's stock from "Neutral" to "Buy" and set a new price target of $62.
The positive sentiment was further supported by news that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted priority review to the company's application for its drug, Opdivo, when used in combination with chemotherapy for treating classical Hodgkin Lymphoma. This action by the FDA indicated an accelerated timeline for potential approval. Not all analysts shared the same bullish view, as Morgan Stanley maintained its "Underweight" rating on the stock, though it did slightly increase its price target from $36 to $37.
Bristol-Myers Squibb is down 4.3% since the beginning of the year, and at $54.37 per share, it is trading 13.9% below its 52-week high of $63.11 from March 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $868.90.
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