Christopher Boerner, CEO of Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY), recently bought 2,000 shares. The buy increased his stake by 2%, and came to a total cost of $110,096. The CEO was also a buyer in late 2023 on multiple occasions.
The latest buy came a week after a company EVP bought 1,823 shares, paying $100,000 for doing so. Going further back, company insiders have been net buyers since late 2023, and sellers earlier in 2023 at much higher share prices.
Overall, Bristol Myers Squibb insiders own 0.3% of shares.
The pharmaceutical manufacturer is up 10% over the past year, returning about half that of the S&P 500. It’s been a weak year for the pharma companies as demand has declined and amid a slowdown in drug breakthroughs.
While Bristol Myers has managed to increase its revenues by 8% in 2024, earnings growth disappeared entirely.
Action to take: Shares are starting to look like a potential value play here, trading at 8 times forward earnings. However, if sales growth doesn’t pick up, shares may be a lackluster trade for some time.
At current prices, Bristol Myers also pays a 4.4% dividend, another sign of being a value play now. The dividend is well covered by current earnings and at no risk for an immediate cut.
For traders, shares have been trending gradually higher since the summer. A call option trade, like the May $60 calls, last trading for about $1.95, could see double-digit returns from here.
Disclosure: The author of this article has no position in the company mentioned here, but may trade after the next 72 hours. The author receives no compensation from any company mentioned in this article.
