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. Based on an average daily volume of 121,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Balchem Trading Down 0.0 %

NASDAQ BCPC traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $175.13. 105,753 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 108,021. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a PE ratio of 49.47, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $171.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $159.94. 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 quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.83.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Gunsteren Job Leonard Van sold 7,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,540 shares in the company, valued at $1,537,627. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.25% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Balchem

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BCPC. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Balchem by 568.9% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 301 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Balchem in the 1st quarter valued at $69,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Balchem by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 473 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Balchem in the 2nd quarter valued at $200,000. Finally, Heritage Family Offices LLP purchased a new position in shares of Balchem in the 2nd quarter valued at $206,000. 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.