Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) CEO Brent Saunders Purchases 14,700 Shares of Stock

Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE:BLCO) CEO Brent Saunders acquired 14,700 shares of Bausch + Lomb stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.14 per share, with a total value of $251,958.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 966,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,567,095.50. The trade was a 1.54% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Down 0.6%

BLCO stock opened at $17.12 on Wednesday. Bausch + Lomb Corporation has a 52-week low of $10.45 and a 52-week high of $18.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50-day moving average of $17.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.18.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.03). Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 2.77% and a negative net margin of 7.06%.The company had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bausch + Lomb Corporation will post 0.74 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BLCO. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a report on Friday, January 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen cut Bausch + Lomb from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Bausch + Lomb has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BLCO. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Bausch + Lomb by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 18,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 711 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 38.2% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 104.1% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 5,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 1,403 shares during the period. Finally, Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 0.5% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 312,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,536,000 after buying an additional 1,436 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

Bausch + Lomb News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Bausch + Lomb this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple insiders bought stock last week, signaling management confidence: CEO Brent L. Saunders purchased 14,700 shares (~$252k), CFO Sam Eldessouky bought 4,000 shares (~$68.5k) and EVP A. Robert D. Bailey acquired 14,600 shares (~$250k). These additions raise insider ownership and are typically viewed as a bullish signal for investors. Form 4 — Saunders Form 4 — Eldessouky Form 4 — Bailey
• Positive Sentiment: Short interest declined ~15.9% in February (to ~2.66M shares), lowering the days-to-cover to ~4.5 — a reduction in bearish positioning that can remove a source of selling pressure and support the share price. (Data reported in recent market updates.)
• Positive Sentiment: Bausch + Lomb launched an R&D “Teach?in” webinar series to walk investors through its differentiated glaucoma pipeline and product roadmap — an investor-focused effort that can increase visibility of growth drivers and reduce uncertainty around the pipeline. Bausch + Lomb Launches R&D “Teach-in” Webinar Series
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary is focusing on glaucoma-related moves and investor interest in BLCO’s pipeline — increased attention to the glaucoma franchise can be constructive if it translates to higher expectations for future sales and approvals. Bausch And Lomb Glaucoma Moves Catch Market Eyes
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and valuation pieces are re?assessing BLCO following recent revenue growth and lingering net?loss figures; these analyses can influence medium?term expectations but are not an immediate directional catalyst. Assessing Bausch + Lomb Valuation

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.