Magnetar Financial LLC Purchases Shares of 1,903 Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 1,903 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $310,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Balchem in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Balchem during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Balchem during the third quarter worth $35,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Balchem during the fourth quarter worth $95,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Balchem by 230.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 645 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. 87.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Sidoti upgraded shares of Balchem to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Balchem in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Balchem Stock Performance

Shares of BCPC opened at $161.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.01, a PEG 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. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.42. Balchem Co. has a 12 month low of $137.69 and a 12 month high of $186.03.

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

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.