Bausch Health Cos (NYSE:BHC) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

Key Points

• Bausch Health shares opened higher, rising from a prior close of $6.04 to $6.27, though they later traded near $5.96.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the stock carries an average “Hold” rating and an $8.00 consensus price target, with ratings ranging from Sell to Strong Buy.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting $1.26 in EPS versus a $0.96 estimate and $2.83 billion in revenue versus $2.59 billion expected, despite negative net margin and return on equity.

Bausch Health Cos Inc. (NYSE:BHC - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday. The stock had previously closed at $6.04, but opened at $6.27. Bausch Health Cos shares last traded at $5.9550, with a volume of 211,220 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BHC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Bausch Health Cos from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $9.00 price objective on shares of Bausch Health Cos in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Bausch Health Cos to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded Bausch Health Cos from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Bausch Health Cos from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $8.00.

Bausch Health Cos Price Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average is $6.20 and its 200-day moving average is $5.56. The company has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.95 and a beta of 0.37.

Bausch Health Cos (NYSE:BHC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.30. Bausch Health Cos had a negative net margin of 10.12% and a negative return on equity of 561.95%. The business had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.59 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Bausch Health Cos Inc. will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Aimee Lenar sold 36,827 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.03, for a total value of $258,893.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 334,853 shares in the company, valued at $2,354,016.59. This represents a 9.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 20.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bausch Health Cos

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Bausch Health Cos during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its holdings in Bausch Health Cos by 149.6% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 249,991 shares of the company's stock worth $1,232,000 after acquiring an additional 149,820 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in Bausch Health Cos by 39.9% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 33,546 shares of the company's stock worth $165,000 after acquiring an additional 9,563 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Bausch Health Cos during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,565,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Bausch Health Cos during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,816,000. 78.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Bausch Health Cos

Bausch Health Companies Inc is a multinational specialty pharmaceutical company headquartered in Laval, Quebec. The company develops, manufactures and markets prescription medicines, branded and generic pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter products and medical devices across a range of therapeutic areas.

Its business includes Salix Pharmaceuticals, which focuses on gastrointestinal treatments; Ortho Dermatologics, which develops prescription therapies for dermatological conditions; and Solta Medical, which provides energy-based medical and aesthetic devices.

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