HC Wainwright Raises Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) Price Target to $189.00

Key Points

• HC Wainwright raised its price target for Balchem's stock from $180.00 to $189.00, suggesting a potential upside of 24.20% from the previous close.
• Balchem reported $1.27 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts’ expectations of $1.25 and marking a 9.1% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Despite the positive rating from HC Wainwright, Wall Street Zen downgraded Balchem from a "buy" rating to a "hold" earlier in July.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by analysts at HC Wainwright from $180.00 to $189.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the basic materials company's stock. HC Wainwright's price target indicates a potential upside of 24.20% from the stock's previous close.

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Balchem from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th.

Balchem Price Performance

BCPC opened at $152.17 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.90, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.88. Balchem has a fifty-two week low of $145.70 and a fifty-two week high of $185.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $160.02 and a 200 day moving average of $162.25.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $255.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.31 million. Balchem had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 12.41%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Balchem will post 4.64 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Balchem

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BCPC. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Balchem in the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,214,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Balchem by 20,231.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 177,288 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $29,430,000 after purchasing an additional 176,416 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Balchem by 660.5% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 195,525 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $32,457,000 after purchasing an additional 169,816 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Balchem by 53.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 246,883 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $40,983,000 after buying an additional 86,132 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Balchem by 120.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 156,562 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,519,000 after buying an additional 85,692 shares during the period. 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.

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