Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Bausch Health Cos (NYSE:BHC) Stock

Bausch Health Cos (NYSE:BHC) had its price objective upped by investment analysts at Barclays from $7.00 to $9.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price target points to a potential upside of 8.89% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Bausch Health Cos from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Bausch Health Cos from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of Bausch Health Cos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Bausch Health Cos from $6.50 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Bausch Health Cos in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $8.75.

Bausch Health Cos Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE:BHC traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $8.27. 120,239 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,689,434. Bausch Health Cos has a 1 year low of $4.33 and a 1 year high of $9.04. The company has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.62 and a beta of 0.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $6.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.76.

Bausch Health Cos (NYSE:BHC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.52. Bausch Health Cos had a negative return on equity of 401.73% and a negative net margin of 7.57%. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Bausch Health Cos will post 4.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Aimee Lenar sold 36,827 shares of Bausch Health Cos stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 9.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 20.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bausch Health Cos

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BHC. Paulson & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in Bausch Health Cos in the second quarter worth about $361,151,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of Bausch Health Cos during the second quarter worth about $1,167,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Bausch Health Cos by 10.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,604,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,456,000 after acquiring an additional 350,823 shares in the last quarter. MFN Partners Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Bausch Health Cos during the second quarter valued at about $29,580,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Bausch Health Cos during the second quarter valued at about $2,816,000. 78.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Bausch Health Cos

Bausch Health Companies Inc. is a global specialty pharmaceutical and medical products company headquartered in Laval, Quebec. It develops, manufactures and markets prescription medicines, over-the-counter products and medical devices, with businesses spanning eye health, gastroenterology, dermatology, neurology and aesthetics. Its portfolio includes Salix products for gastrointestinal conditions, Ortho Dermatologics treatments for skin conditions and Solta Medical aesthetic devices. Bausch Health also retains a controlling ownership interest in Bausch + Lomb, a publicly traded eye-health company whose products include contact lenses, lens care products, pharmaceuticals and surgical devices.