Bausch Health Cos (NYSE:BHC) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Bausch Health Cos Inc. (NYSE:BHC) saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . 3,484,778 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 36% from the previous session’s volume of 2,564,270 shares.The stock last traded at $5.9110 and had previously closed at $5.86.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Bausch Health Cos from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Bausch Health Cos to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Bausch Health Cos from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Bausch Health Cos from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $8.00.

Bausch Health Cos Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 54.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $5.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.51. The firm has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a PE ratio of -2.03 and a beta of 0.37.

Bausch Health Cos (NYSE:BHC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.59 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Bausch Health Cos Inc. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bausch Health Cos news, insider Aimee Lenar sold 36,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.03, for a total value of $258,893.81. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bausch Health Cos

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Paulson & CO. Inc. acquired a new position in Bausch Health Cos in the second quarter valued at approximately $361,151,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Bausch Health Cos by 24.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 11,363,498 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,362,000 after acquiring an additional 2,262,894 shares during the last quarter. MFN Partners Management LP acquired a new stake in Bausch Health Cos during the second quarter worth $29,580,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Bausch Health Cos by 65.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,143,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,748,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038,813 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Bausch Health Cos in the fourth quarter valued at $25,592,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.65% of the company’s stock.

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, over-the-counter products and medical devices, with a focus on gastroenterology, neurology, dermatology and other specialty therapeutic areas.

Its portfolio includes gastrointestinal treatments such as Xifaxan, Trulance and Relistor, as well as products for conditions affecting the central nervous system and skin.