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

Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $19.45.

A number of brokerages have commented on BLCO. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Monday, September 16th. HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Evercore raised their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $15.50 to $17.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, 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 note on Thursday, August 1st.

Insider Activity

In other Bausch + Lomb news, CEO Brent L. Saunders purchased 32,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $15.66 per share, with a total value of $505,035.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 595,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,320,346.54. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Institutional Trading of Bausch + Lomb

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 14,052.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 3,232 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in Bausch + Lomb during the second quarter worth about $173,000. Fore Capital LLC bought a new stake in Bausch + Lomb during the first quarter worth about $384,000. Renaissance Capital LLC grew its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 3.0% in the first quarter. Renaissance Capital LLC now owns 23,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 669 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the second quarter valued at approximately $580,000. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Performance

NYSE BLCO opened at $19.14 on Friday. Bausch + Lomb has a 52-week low of $13.16 and a 52-week high of $21.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $16.79 and a 200-day moving average of $15.84. The company has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.46. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 3.36% and a negative net margin of 10.15%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.18 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.