Clearline Capital LP Trims Stock Position in Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO)

Clearline Capital LP trimmed its holdings in Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 710,055 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. Bausch + Lomb accounts for approximately 0.6% of Clearline Capital LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Clearline Capital LP owned 0.20% of Bausch + Lomb worth $13,697,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Renaissance Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 57.2% in the second quarter. Renaissance Capital LLC now owns 36,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $527,000 after buying an additional 13,210 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 14,052.2% in the 2nd 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 period. Fore Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 90.2% during the second quarter. Fore Capital LLC now owns 42,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $612,000 after buying an additional 20,000 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 53.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 67,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $984,000 after buying an additional 23,714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC grew its position in Bausch + Lomb by 25.0% during the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 390,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,663,000 after buying an additional 78,000 shares during the period. 11.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BLCO shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Evercore ISI raised Bausch + Lomb from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $25.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bausch + Lomb currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.00.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Performance

Shares of BLCO opened at $19.82 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Bausch + Lomb Co. has a 52-week low of $13.16 and a 52-week high of $21.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $19.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.19. The company has a market capitalization of $6.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.46.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.01. Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 3.17% and a negative net margin of 7.86%. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Bausch + Lomb Co. will post 0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bausch + Lomb 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.