Chairman Joseph Papa has stepped down from his role
The shares of Bausch Health Companies Inc (NYSE:BHC) are up 4.5% to trade at $7.55 ahead of the open, following changes to its board of directors. Specifically, Chairman Joseph Papa has stepped down from his role, which will be filled by investor John Paulson. The pharmaceutical name assured no disagreements or disputes led to this decision.
Digging deeper, the security has tested a floor at the $7 for the last two weeks. Shares yesterday hit a 14-year low of $6.88 -- dangerously close to its record lows -- and continue to struggle with long-term, overhead pressure from their 20-day moving average. Year-to-date, BHC is down 73.7%.
Despite this negative price action, analysts remain optimistic toward Bausch Health stock. In fact, four of the six firms in coverage call it a "strong buy." The same cannot be said for short sellers. Short interest added 20.9% over the last two reporting periods, and the 17.61 million shares sold short now make up 5.1% of the security's available float.
The options pits have also been bearish of late. Over at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), BHC sports a 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.37 that sits higher than 87% of readings from the last 12 months. This means puts are getting picked up at a much quicker-than-usual clip.