Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Balchem's stock rating was downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" by Wall Street Zen, reflecting a cautious outlook on the company's performance.
• Despite the downgrade, HC Wainwright maintained a "buy" rating for Balchem with a price target of $180.00.
• Balchem reported quarterly earnings of $1.22 per share, which missed the consensus estimate, although its revenue exceeded expectations, showing a 4.5% year-over-year increase.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Separately, HC Wainwright set a $180.00 price objective on Balchem and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th.

Balchem Price Performance

BCPC stock traded down $0.38 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $148.82. 268,324 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 150,568. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.44. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $161.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $162.38. The stock has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.69, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.89. Balchem has a fifty-two week low of $145.70 and a fifty-two week high of $186.03.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.25 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $250.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $245.70 million. Balchem had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 14.16%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. Research analysts predict that Balchem will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Balchem

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Balchem during the first quarter valued at about $1,148,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Balchem by 22.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,068 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Balchem by 243.2% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 9,390 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,559,000 after purchasing an additional 6,654 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Balchem during the first quarter worth about $202,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Balchem by 24.1% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,582 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.