Short Interest in Bausch Health Companies Inc. (NYSE:BHC) Declines By 17.0%

Bausch Health Companies Inc. (NYSE:BHC) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 6,450,000 shares, a decrease of 17.0% from the February 13th total of 7,770,000 shares. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,440,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BHC. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Bausch Health Companies from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $8.00 price target (down from $12.00) on shares of Bausch Health Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bausch Health Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.42.

Bausch Health Companies Stock Performance

BHC traded down $0.01 on Thursday, reaching $7.00. 795,747 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,698,594. Bausch Health Companies has a twelve month low of $3.96 and a twelve month high of $11.46. The company’s 50 day moving average is $7.16 and its 200-day moving average is $7.68. The company has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -58.29, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.59.

Bausch Health Companies (NYSE:BHC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.44). The company had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. Bausch Health Companies had a negative return on equity of 577.82% and a negative net margin of 0.48%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bausch Health Companies will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in Bausch Health Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new stake in shares of Bausch Health Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $83,000. One68 Global Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Bausch Health Companies in the fourth quarter worth $90,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Bausch Health Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $97,000. Finally, Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bausch Health Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $114,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.65% of the company’s stock.

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.