Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Bausch Health Cos Inc. $BHC

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Bausch Health Cos Inc. (NYSE:BHC) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 3,682,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,592,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BHC. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Bausch Health Cos during the first quarter worth about $68,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Bausch Health Cos by 1,548.9% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 24,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,000 after acquiring an additional 23,451 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bausch Health Cos by 97.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 948,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,136,000 after acquiring an additional 467,270 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bausch Health Cos by 3.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 324,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,102,000 after acquiring an additional 9,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bausch Health Cos by 11.2% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 840,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,597,000 after acquiring an additional 84,892 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BHC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Bausch Health Cos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 15th. Weiss Ratings cut Bausch Health Cos from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Bausch Health Cos from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Bausch Health Cos from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bausch Health Cos has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $8.00.

Insider Activity at Bausch Health Cos

In other news, Director Frank D. Lee sold 24,456 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.43, for a total transaction of $132,796.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 49,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $267,910.77. This represents a 33.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 20.67% of the company’s stock.

Bausch Health Cos Stock Up 1.2%

NYSE:BHC opened at $5.17 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a PE ratio of -1.60 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $5.47 and a 200-day moving average of $6.01. Bausch Health Cos Inc. has a 52 week low of $4.80 and a 52 week high of $8.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 54.68.

Bausch Health Cos (NYSE:BHC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.37 billion. Bausch Health Cos had a negative net margin of 11.47% and a negative return on equity of 2,922.77%. Analysts predict that Bausch Health Cos Inc. will post 4.08 EPS for the current year.

Bausch Health Cos Company Profile

Bausch Health Cos Inc, formerly known as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, is a global specialty pharmaceutical company headquartered in Laval, Quebec, Canada. The company operates through two primary segments: Ophthalmology, led by its Bausch + Lomb franchise, and Diversified Brands, which encompasses prescription dermatology, gastrointestinal, neurology and branded pharmaceutical products. Bausch Health develops, manufactures and markets a range of therapeutic and over-the-counter offerings designed to address conditions such as cataracts, dry eye, glaucoma, acne, rosacea, migraine and gastrointestinal disorders.

The Ophthalmology segment under the Bausch + Lomb name provides products for eye health, including prescription drops, contact lens care solutions, intraocular lenses, surgical instruments and diagnostic devices.