Bausch Health Companies Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:BHC)

Bausch Health Companies Inc. (NYSE:BHC) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 65,522 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,339% compared to the typical volume of 4,552 put options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bausch Health Companies

In other news, EVP Seana Carson sold 13,370 shares of Bausch Health Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.21, for a total value of $83,027.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 435,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,702,579.58. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 8.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Bausch Health Companies in the first quarter worth about $935,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Bausch Health Companies by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,599,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,025,000 after purchasing an additional 111,363 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in Bausch Health Companies by 111.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,381,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,612,000 after buying an additional 1,252,834 shares during the last quarter. Clearline Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Bausch Health Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,881,000. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in shares of Bausch Health Companies by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 84,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $894,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. 78.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bausch Health Companies Stock Performance

Shares of BHC stock opened at $9.78 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $7.47 and its 200 day moving average is $7.06. Bausch Health Companies has a 52-week low of $3.96 and a 52-week high of $11.46. The company has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a PE ratio of -20.38 and a beta of 0.77.

Bausch Health Companies (NYSE:BHC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.09. Bausch Health Companies had a negative return on equity of 850.93% and a negative net margin of 1.88%. The firm had revenue of $2.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Bausch Health Companies will post 3.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BHC shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Bausch Health Companies from $13.00 to $9.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Raymond James assumed coverage on Bausch Health Companies in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $8.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered Bausch Health Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $9.00 to $3.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Bausch Health Companies from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Bausch Health Companies from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.75.

About Bausch Health Companies

Bausch Health Companies Inc operates as a diversified specialty pharmaceutical and medical device company in the United States and internationally. It develops, manufactures, and markets a range of products primarily in gastroenterology, hepatology, neurology, dermatology, international pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter (OTC) products, aesthetic medical devices, and eye health.