HC Wainwright Raises Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) Price Target to $170.00

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) had its target price hoisted by HC Wainwright from $167.00 to $170.00 in a research note published on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the basic materials company’s stock. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Balchem’s Q2 2024 earnings at $0.90 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $0.94 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $0.98 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $3.71 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.00 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.04 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.08 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.12 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $4.23 EPS.

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Balchem from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th.

Balchem Stock Performance

Shares of BCPC opened at $155.02 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $150.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $141.39. The stock has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.79, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.72. Balchem has a 12-month low of $110.74 and a 12-month high of $159.52. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $228.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $234.66 million. Balchem had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 12.35%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Balchem will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 11,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.21, for a total transaction of $1,700,631.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,736 shares in the company, valued at $1,032,022.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 11,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.21, for a total transaction of $1,700,631.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,736 shares in the company, valued at $1,032,022.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Theodore L. Harris sold 34,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.29, for a total value of $5,299,861.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 66,412 shares in the company, valued at $10,246,707.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 76,630 shares of company stock valued at $11,843,249 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Balchem

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Balchem by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,791,512 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $563,987,000 after purchasing an additional 30,868 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Balchem by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,125,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $174,378,000 after buying an additional 42,172 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Balchem by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 767,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $114,123,000 after acquiring an additional 3,885 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Balchem by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 687,485 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $102,265,000 after acquiring an additional 11,629 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in Balchem by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 521,590 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $77,587,000 after acquiring an additional 2,801 shares during the last quarter. 87.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.