Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) Stock Rating Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $49.00 target price on shares of Sanofi in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. HSBC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Sanofi in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Sanofi in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. They set a “sector perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Sanofi from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.50.

Sanofi Trading Down 1.8%

NASDAQ:SNY opened at $39.92 on Friday. Sanofi has a 12-month low of $39.50 and a 12-month high of $52.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.33.

Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $13.36 billion for the quarter. Sanofi had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 8.66%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.24 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Sanofi will post 5.07 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sanofi

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new stake in Sanofi during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $79,960,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its position in Sanofi by 728,134.8% in the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 1,194,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,542,000 after buying an additional 1,194,141 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sanofi by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,100,097 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,151,000 after buying an additional 1,168,339 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Sanofi by 11.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,484,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $456,956,000 after acquiring an additional 940,342 shares during the period. Finally, Regal Partners Ltd grew its stake in shares of Sanofi by 33.2% in the first quarter. Regal Partners Ltd now owns 2,545,432 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,639,000 after acquiring an additional 633,782 shares during the last quarter. 14.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Sanofi

Here are the key news stories impacting Sanofi this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sanofi and Regeneron added four next-generation antibodies to their alliance, including the clinical-stage IL-13 antibody REGN20423, an IL-4xIL-13 bispecific antibody, and two preclinical candidates. The products are designed to offer longer dosing intervals and could broaden the companies’ immunology franchise beyond Dupixent. Sanofi and Regeneron expand global alliance press release
• Positive Sentiment: Regeneron will receive a $1 billion upfront payment, with as much as $7 billion in additional milestone payments, making the potential deal value up to $8 billion. Sanofi will gain access to assets that could support long-term revenue growth and help replenish its specialty-care pipeline. Sanofi Regeneron expand immunology alliance
• Neutral Sentiment: The companies will split development and commercialization costs equally and share future profits. This limits Sanofi’s financial burden compared with a wholly owned program, but the milestone payments are contingent on development and commercial success rather than guaranteed. Sanofi Regeneron alliance deal
• Negative Sentiment: The $1 billion upfront payment will pressure near-term cash flow, while the newly added antibodies remain at different stages of development. Clinical, regulatory and commercial setbacks could prevent Sanofi from realizing the agreement’s headline value. Sanofi Regeneron alliance worth up to $8 billion

About Sanofi

Sanofi is a France-based global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets prescription medicines, vaccines and consumer healthcare products. Its portfolio focuses on areas including immunology, rare diseases, vaccines, diabetes and other chronic conditions, as well as specialized treatments for selected neurological and inflammatory disorders.

The company is known for products such as Dupixent, a biologic used to treat several inflammatory conditions, and a broad range of vaccines marketed through its Sanofi Pasteur business.