TSC Ratings' Updates: Bristol-Myers

The following ratings changes were generated on Tuesday, Dec. 23.

We've upgraded pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb(BMY Quote) from hold to buy, driven by its revenue growth, compelling growth in net income, expanding profit margins, good cash flow from operations and largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had lackluster performance in the stock itself.

Revenue rose by 14.2% since the same quarter last year, outpacing the industry average of 10.3% growth, though EPS declined. Bristol-Myers' gross profit margin of 71.2% is very high, having increased from the same quarter a year ago, and it's net profit margin of 49.1% significantly outperformed the industry average. Net operating cash flow has significantly increased by 104% to $1,422.00 million, vastly surpassing the industry average cash flow growth rate of -23.44%. Net income increased by 200.5%, from $858 million to $2,578 million, significantly outperforming the S&P 500 and the pharmaceuticals industry. Bristol-Myers' debt-to-equity ratio of 0.5 is low but is higher than that of the industry average. The company's quick ratio of 1.7 is high and demonstrates strong liquidity. ...