HC Wainwright Raises Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) Price Target to $170.00

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) had its target price hoisted by investment analysts at HC Wainwright from $167.00 to $170.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 9.34% from the stock’s current price.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th.

Balchem Stock Performance

Shares of BCPC stock opened at $155.48 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.72. Balchem has a 12-month low of $110.74 and a 12-month high of $159.52. The business’s 50 day moving average is $151.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $228.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $234.66 million. Balchem had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. Analysts expect that Balchem will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Balchem news, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 11,100 shares of Balchem stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.21, for a total transaction of $1,700,631.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,032,022.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Balchem news, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 11,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.21, for a total value of $1,700,631.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,032,022.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO William A. Backus sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.73, for a total value of $2,320,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,914 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,183.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 76,630 shares of company stock worth $11,843,249. 1.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Balchem by 18.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 473 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Balchem by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 19,539 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,922,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Balchem by 123.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 165 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. SageView Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Balchem by 2.1% in the third quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,814 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $597,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in Balchem by 0.7% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 14,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,803,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

About Balchem

Balchem Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets specialty performance ingredients and products for the nutritional, food, pharmaceutical, animal health, medical device sterilization, plant nutrition, and industrial markets worldwide. It operates through three segments: Human Nutrition and Health, Animal Nutrition and Health, and Specialty Products.