Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) Trading Down 86.3% – Should You Sell?

Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) shares were down 86.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $159.06 and last traded at $22.97. Approximately 82,664 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 33% from the average daily volume of 122,909 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Balchem in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Sidoti raised Balchem to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Balchem Trading Down 4.3 %

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $165.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.22. The company has a market cap of $5.21 billion, a PE ratio of 40.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $240.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.96 million. Balchem had a return on equity of 11.37% and a net margin of 13.47%. As a group, analysts expect that Balchem Co. will post 4.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Balchem

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCPC. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Balchem by 63.7% during the 4th quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 35,069 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,438,000 after purchasing an additional 13,642 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Balchem by 1.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 458,986 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $80,782,000 after buying an additional 7,721 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Balchem by 26.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,893 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,093,000 after buying an additional 2,467 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Balchem during the 4th quarter worth about $503,000. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Balchem by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 317,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $51,769,000 after acquiring an additional 16,170 shares in 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.