Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) Short Interest Update

Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 436,100 shares, a decrease of 17.2% from the August 31st total of 526,900 shares. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 121,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Gunsteren Job Leonard Van sold 7,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.05, for a total value of $1,395,387.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,537,627. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCPC. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Balchem by 568.9% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 301 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Balchem in the first quarter valued at approximately $69,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Balchem by 18.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 473 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Balchem in the second quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Finally, Heritage Family Offices LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Balchem in the second quarter valued at approximately $206,000. 87.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BCPC has been the subject of several analyst reports. HC Wainwright increased their price target on shares of Balchem from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th.

Balchem Price Performance

Balchem stock traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $175.13. The company had a trading volume of 105,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 108,021. Balchem has a 1 year low of $110.74 and a 1 year high of $186.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The company has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.47, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $171.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.94.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The basic materials company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.03. Balchem had a net margin of 12.52% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The company had revenue of $234.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $241.26 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Balchem will post 3.96 EPS for the current year.

Balchem Company Profile

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.