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

Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Sanofi Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50 day moving average of $47.59 and a 200-day moving average of $48.44.

Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.05). Sanofi had a return on equity of 27.47% and a net margin of 12.56%. The firm had revenue of $11.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.02 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sanofi will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

Sanofi Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $1.478 dividend. This is a boost from Sanofi’s previous annual dividend of $1.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.98%. Sanofi’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.47%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sanofi

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cardinal Capital Management grew its stake in Sanofi by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 58,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,927,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Sanofi by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 6,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Wynn Capital LLC grew its stake in Sanofi by 4.5% during the first quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Sage Rhino Capital LLC grew its stake in Sanofi by 2.8% during the third quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 8,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Finally, Angeles Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Sanofi by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 10.04% of the company’s stock.

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.