New York, January 7, 2026, 20:54 (EST) — Market closed
- Bristol Myers Squibb shares closed up 4.2% after UBS upgraded the stock to “buy” and raised its price target.
- UBS flagged patent-expiry pressure through 2028 but said the market may already be pricing in much of the hit.
- Next dates in focus: the company’s Jan. 12 J.P. Morgan conference slot and its Feb. 5 quarterly results.
Bristol Myers Squibb shares rose 4.2% to $56.72 on Wednesday after UBS upgraded the drugmaker to buy and lifted its price target to $65 from $46. 1
The call matters now because big drugmakers are trying to convince investors they can bridge the next few years of patent losses without giving up growth later. Bristol Myers has been a litmus test for that trade: steady cash flows, but an earnings gap investors do not want to underwrite blindly.
UBS analyst Michael Yee said the stock’s “risk/reward ratio” is “skewed… to the upside” into the second half of 2026, pointing to “three to four major catalysts.” He flagged loss of exclusivity, or LOE — when patents expire and copycat drugs can enter — as a drag through 2028, helping keep Bristol Myers on a roughly 9-times price-to-earnings multiple, a valuation measure that shows what investors pay for a dollar of profit. UBS said the current price reflects most of a $20 billion to $30 billion LOE impact through 2028 and sees $10 billion to $15 billion in potential revenue upside after 2028 if clinical results land. 2
Bristol Myers outperformed a down day for the broader market, while peers Pfizer and Abbott Laboratories fell and Johnson & Johnson rose. Trading volume topped its recent average and the stock finished about 10% below its 52-week high, market data showed. 3
The move also left the stock well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, at $49.68 and $48.46, levels some chart-focused traders watch for trend signals. 4
Macro is still a live wire for defensives like healthcare. The Federal Reserve’s next policy meeting is scheduled for Jan. 27-28, putting rate expectations back on the front page as investors position for 2026. 5
Company-specific catalysts come sooner. Bristol Myers is set to present at J.P. Morgan’s annual healthcare conference on Jan. 12, with a fireside chat slated for 10:30 a.m. ET, the company has said. 6
But upgrades can be noisy, and the downside case is familiar: if late-stage data disappoints, launches underwhelm or pricing pressure bites harder, a low multiple can stay low even after a rally.
The next hard checkpoint is Feb. 5, when Bristol Myers reports fourth-quarter results and hosts a conference call at 8 a.m. ET. Investors will be listening for 2026 expectations and any fresh detail on how the company plans to absorb patent losses while funding its pipeline. 7
