Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) Downgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

Balchem Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BCPC traded down $2.14 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $138.50. The company had a trading volume of 111,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 104,319. Balchem has a twelve month low of $110.74 and a twelve month high of $159.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $152.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.85.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $228.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $234.66 million. Balchem had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 11.77%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Balchem will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Balchem news, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 11,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,032,022.56. The transaction 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.21, for a total value of $1,700,631.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,032,022.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William A. Backus sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.19, for a total value of $1,086,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,793.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 76,630 shares of company stock valued at $11,843,249 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Balchem

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Balchem by 123.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 165 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Balchem in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new position in Balchem in the third quarter worth about $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Balchem during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Balchem by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 953 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. 87.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.