Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Coverage Initiated at Raymond James

Equities researchers at Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm set an “outperform” rating and a $19.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 19.50% from the stock’s previous close.

BLCO has been the topic of several other reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $15.00 to $15.50 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Evercore dropped their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $15.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Bausch + Lomb from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $16.00 to $18.00 in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.95.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Up 2.8 %

BLCO stock opened at $15.90 on Wednesday. Bausch + Lomb has a fifty-two week low of $13.16 and a fifty-two week high of $21.23. The company has a market capitalization of $5.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $14.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.70.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.02). Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 7.81% and a positive return on equity of 3.60%. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.10 EPS. Bausch + Lomb’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Renaissance Capital LLC lifted its position in Bausch + Lomb by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Capital LLC now owns 22,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 4,801 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 33.2% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 192,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,281,000 after acquiring an additional 47,914 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its position in Bausch + Lomb by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,938,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,066,000 after acquiring an additional 343,772 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC increased its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 478.0% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 87,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,486,000 after acquiring an additional 72,030 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its position in Bausch + Lomb by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 114,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,948,000 after purchasing an additional 11,321 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

About Bausch + Lomb

Bausch + Lomb Corporation operates as an eye health company in the United States, Puerto Rico, China, France, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Poland, South Korea, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Vision Care, Pharmaceuticals, and Surgical. The Vision Care segment provides contact lens that covers the spectrum of wearing modalities, including daily disposable and frequently replaced contact lenses; and contact lens care products comprising over-the-counter eye drops, eye vitamins, and mineral supplements that address various conditions, such as eye allergies, conjunctivitis, dry eye, and redness relief.