Bausch Health Cos (NYSE:BHC) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Bausch Health Cos Inc. (NYSE:BHC) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . Approximately 6,961,410 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 244% from the previous session’s volume of 2,025,402 shares.The stock last traded at $5.3950 and had previously closed at $5.28.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BHC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Bausch Health Cos from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Bausch Health Cos from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bausch Health Cos currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $8.00.

Bausch Health Cos Stock Down 2.9%

The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 54.68. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.92 billion, a PE ratio of -1.58 and a beta of 0.40.

Bausch Health Cos (NYSE:BHC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.03). Bausch Health Cos had a negative return on equity of 2,922.77% and a negative net margin of 11.47%.The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.37 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bausch Health Cos Inc. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Bausch Health Cos news, Director Frank D. Lee sold 24,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.43, for a total value of $132,796.08. Following the transaction, the director owned 49,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $267,910.77. The trade was a 33.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 20.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bausch Health Cos

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BHC. Amundi increased its holdings in Bausch Health Cos by 61.7% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 23,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 9,148 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Bausch Health Cos by 24.9% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 11,363,498 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,362,000 after buying an additional 2,262,894 shares during the period. Whitebox Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Bausch Health Cos by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC now owns 564,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,049,000 after buying an additional 20,175 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bausch Health Cos by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 53,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 7,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Bausch Health Cos by 10.0% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,575,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,509,000 after buying an additional 143,581 shares during the period. 78.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bausch Health Cos Company Profile

Bausch Health Cos Inc, formerly known as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, is a global specialty pharmaceutical company headquartered in Laval, Quebec, Canada. The company operates through two primary segments: Ophthalmology, led by its Bausch + Lomb franchise, and Diversified Brands, which encompasses prescription dermatology, gastrointestinal, neurology and branded pharmaceutical products. Bausch Health develops, manufactures and markets a range of therapeutic and over-the-counter offerings designed to address conditions such as cataracts, dry eye, glaucoma, acne, rosacea, migraine and gastrointestinal disorders.

The Ophthalmology segment under the Bausch + Lomb name provides products for eye health, including prescription drops, contact lens care solutions, intraocular lenses, surgical instruments and diagnostic devices.