Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) Stock Price Down 85% - Time to Sell?

Balchem Corporation (NASDAQ:BCPC - Get Free Report) traded down 85% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $158.91 and last traded at $24.35. 25,763 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 143,393 shares. The stock had previously closed at $161.93.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BCPC shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Balchem from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. 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 Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.93, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.89. The stock's fifty day moving average is $163.89 and its 200-day moving average is $162.99.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.25 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $250.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.70 million. Balchem had a net margin of 14.16% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Balchem Corporation will post 4.64 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Balchem

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Balchem during the first quarter worth about $1,148,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Balchem by 22.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,068 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $177,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Balchem by 243.2% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 9,390 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,559,000 after acquiring an additional 6,654 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Balchem during the 1st quarter valued at $202,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Balchem by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 370,912 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $60,457,000 after purchasing an additional 8,942 shares during the period. 87.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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