Evercore ISI Upgrades Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) to Outperform

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) was upgraded by Evercore ISI from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $25.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $19.00. Evercore ISI’s price objective points to a potential upside of 20.37% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on BLCO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James assumed coverage on Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. HC Wainwright increased their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Evercore increased their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $15.50 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bausch + Lomb presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.00.

Bausch + Lomb Price Performance

Shares of BLCO opened at $20.77 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $7.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.64, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $17.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Bausch + Lomb has a 12 month low of $13.16 and a 12 month high of $21.69.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 3.36% and a negative net margin of 10.15%. The firm’s revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.18 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brent L. Saunders acquired 32,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $15.66 per share, for a total transaction of $505,035.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 595,169 shares in the company, valued at $9,320,346.54. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

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

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.