Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,860,000 shares, an increase of 52.5% from the February 13th total of 1,220,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 631,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days. Approximately 5.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on BLCO. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bausch + Lomb currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.00.

Bausch + Lomb Price Performance

Shares of Bausch + Lomb stock traded up $0.04 on Monday, hitting $15.39. 218,658 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 578,859. Bausch + Lomb has a 52 week low of $13.16 and a 52 week high of $21.69. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.49.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 6.62% and a positive return on equity of 3.35%. Bausch + Lomb’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.24 EPS. Research analysts expect that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BLCO. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 68.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the fourth quarter valued at $72,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new stake in Bausch + Lomb in the fourth quarter worth $181,000. Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bausch + Lomb during the fourth quarter valued at $181,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd bought a new position in Bausch + Lomb during the fourth quarter valued at $188,000. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.