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

Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,860,000 shares, a growth of 52.5% from the February 13th total of 1,220,000 shares. Currently, 5.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 631,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLCO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Bausch + Lomb from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $24.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bausch + Lomb presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.00.

Bausch + Lomb Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE BLCO traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $15.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 278,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 578,925. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.12. The stock has a market cap of $5.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.49. Bausch + Lomb has a 52 week low of $13.16 and a 52 week high of $21.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 36.0% in the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 3,008,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,328,000 after acquiring an additional 796,400 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the 4th quarter valued at $14,122,000. King Street Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the 3rd quarter valued at $14,122,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 51.5% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,218,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,996,000 after acquiring an additional 414,138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,797,000. Institutional investors own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

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.