Bausch Health Inches Higher After Small Debt Pay-down

(Bloomberg) -- Bausch Health Companies Inc. shares rose 1.2 percent in pre-market trading after the company paid off $100 million of its over $25.6 billion debt. $100 million “is not a meaningful pay-down given their capital structure, but it does reinforce the company’s focus on deleveraging,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Mike Holland writes in an email.

• Such payments are “a positive for credit investors usually to the detriment of equity holders in the short term,” Holland says
• BHC 8 buys, 6 holds, 4 sells; average price target $29, implying 20% upside, according to data compiled by Bloomberg
• BHC reports earnings on Feb. 20

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