Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $19.45.

A number of brokerages recently commented on BLCO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Evercore boosted their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $15.50 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Monday, September 16th.

Bausch + Lomb Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of BLCO stock opened at $19.14 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.94, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.46. Bausch + Lomb has a fifty-two week low of $13.16 and a fifty-two week high of $21.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.65.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 10.15% and a positive return on equity of 3.36%. Bausch + Lomb’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.18 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bausch + Lomb news, CEO Brent L. Saunders bought 32,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.66 per share, with a total value of $505,035.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 595,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,320,346.54. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clearline Capital LP boosted its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 136.8% in the 2nd quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 712,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,339,000 after purchasing an additional 411,404 shares during the period. Freshford Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 29.8% during the fourth quarter. Freshford Capital Management LLC now owns 1,754,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,925,000 after buying an additional 403,062 shares during the period. Invenomic Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Bausch + Lomb during the first quarter worth about $6,817,000. Whitebox Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 28.2% in the 2nd quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC now owns 1,545,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,447,000 after acquiring an additional 339,643 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rokos Capital Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the 1st quarter valued at about $5,602,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

Bausch + Lomb Company Profile

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.