Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) Shares Gap Up to $46.61

Shares of Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $46.61, but opened at $48.80. Sanofi shares last traded at $49.26, with a volume of 1,794,054 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on SNY. StockNews.com cut shares of Sanofi from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. TheStreet lowered shares of Sanofi from a “b” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Sanofi in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.00.

Sanofi Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $47.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.28 billion, a PE ratio of 24.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.05). Sanofi had a return on equity of 19.69% and a net margin of 10.52%. The business had revenue of $11.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.02 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sanofi will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

Sanofi Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $1.478 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.98%. This is an increase from Sanofi’s previous annual dividend of $1.38. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. Sanofi’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sanofi

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in Sanofi by 98.4% during the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. acquired a new position in Sanofi during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Sanofi by 163.5% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 535 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sanofi during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sanofi during the first quarter worth $29,000. 10.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Sanofi

Sanofi, a healthcare company, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of therapeutic solutions in the United States, Europe, 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.