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Israel “Izzy” Englander may not be a household name, but he’s one of America’s wealthiest investors, with a net worth of around $26.5 billion. Englander made his fortune as founder and manager of Millennium Management, a multi-strategy hedge fund with over $87 billion in assets under management .
Given its enormous capital base and multi-strategy approach, it’s not surprising that the fund’s 13F filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) list thousands of equity positions. However, among these positions, one stands out as a stock that Englander and his fund appear to be highly bullish on: Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY).
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Last quarter, Millennium materially increased its position in the company. Although this position accounts for only a tiny portion of its overall portfolio, this “smart money” investor’s big buy suggests better times ahead for this pharmaceutical stock, which has been weighed down by upcoming patent expirations for several of its blockbuster drugs.
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Millennium upped its Bristol Myers Squibb position last quarter
According to Millennium’s Q1 2026 13F filing, the hedge fund increased its position by 5.8 million shares, from 743,659 to 6,545,442 shares. Even as this position makes up less than a fifth of 1% of the fund’s assets under management, last quarter’s bullish shift suggests that the fund manager believes the pharma company’s shares could make a further recovery.
In fact, during Q1 2026, it appeared as though Bristol Myers Squibb was en route to a recovery. From late 2025 to early 2026, the stock surged by around 25%. A major factor driving this surge may have included a promising quarterly earnings release, which, alongside better-than-expected results, unveiled guidance that also exceeded investor expectations.
Since then, however, Bristol Myers shares have pulled back but remain up by around 1% year to date. The company once again exceeded expectations with its results. Also, Bristol Myers Squibb reiterated its full-year guidance, calling for revenue of $46 billion to $47.5 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $6.05 to $6.35.
However, it’s possible that uncertainty surrounding the pending patent expiration for Eliquis, one of the company’s top-selling drugs, has led to the recent wave of weakness. So, is Millennium’s bullish thesis, as I understand it, breaking? Not necessarily, as the pharmaceutical giant continues its game plan to mitigate the impact of its key near-term headwind.
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Should you follow suit?
For the past several years, Bristol Myers Squibb has contended with a major patent cliff, or the expiration of patent exclusivity for not one but several of its top-selling branded drug products. As patents expire, generic drugmakers become free to enter the market. This typically leads to declining sales for the original patented and branded product.
Previously, the company appeared to have recovered from the impact of losing patent exclusivity for its multiple myeloma therapy, Revlimid. Bristol Myers’ revenue declined in 2023 but surged to above 2022 levels by 2024, with adjusted earnings recovering in 2025.
This time, however, Bristol Myers Squibb is on the verge of losing exclusivity on several blockbuster drugs, including blood thinner Eliquis and cancer treatment Opdivo. Still, as with the last time the company faced a patent cliff, measures to mitigate the damage could prove effective. For example, creating variations of Opdivo may help to partially extend its patent exclusivity.
The company is also utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) to both reduce costs and to speed up clinical development times for its drug candidate pipeline.
Only time will tell whether these efforts work, but the risk/reward appears favorable. Currently, the stock trades for less than 9 times earnings, and has a 4.6% forward dividend yield to boot. With uncertainty factored so much into its valuation, even a small amount of positive surprises could propel this healthcare stock back to higher price levels.
Should you buy stock in Bristol Myers Squibb right now?
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Thomas Niel has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bristol Myers Squibb. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Billionaire Izzy Englander Just Made a Big Bet on This Beaten-Down High-Yield Dividend Stock was originally published by The Motley Fool
