Bausch Health Companies Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:BHC)

Bausch Health Companies Inc. (NYSE:BHC) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Traders bought 65,522 put options on the company. This is an increase of 1,339% compared to the average daily volume of 4,552 put options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bausch Health Companies

In other news, EVP Seana Carson sold 13,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.21, for a total transaction of $83,027.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 435,198 shares in the company, valued at $2,702,579.58. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 8.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bausch Health Companies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Bausch Health Companies by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,713,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,285,000 after buying an additional 114,862 shares during the last quarter. Natixis lifted its position in Bausch Health Companies by 14.3% during the first quarter. Natixis now owns 3,652,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,707,000 after purchasing an additional 456,000 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bausch Health Companies by 1,050.8% during the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,409,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,135,000 after acquiring an additional 3,113,123 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Bausch Health Companies by 12.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,165,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,063,000 after purchasing an additional 341,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Bausch Health Companies by 111.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,381,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,612,000 after buying an additional 1,252,834 shares during the last quarter. 78.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bausch Health Companies Stock Performance

NYSE BHC opened at $9.78 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.38 and a beta of 0.77. Bausch Health Companies has a 52 week low of $3.96 and a 52 week high of $11.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $7.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.06.

Bausch Health Companies (NYSE:BHC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.42 billion. Bausch Health Companies had a negative return on equity of 850.93% and a negative net margin of 1.88%. Bausch Health Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bausch Health Companies will post 3.6 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James began coverage on Bausch Health Companies in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $8.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Bausch Health Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $9.00 to $3.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Bausch Health Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Bausch Health Companies from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on Bausch Health Companies from $10.00 to $8.50 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.75.

About Bausch Health Companies

Bausch Health Companies Inc operates as a diversified specialty pharmaceutical and medical device company in the United States and internationally. It develops, manufactures, and markets a range of products primarily in gastroenterology, hepatology, neurology, dermatology, international pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter (OTC) products, aesthetic medical devices, and eye health.