Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE:BLCO) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE:BLCO) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $18.0833.

A number of research firms have recently commented on BLCO. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $16.00 target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Thursday, February 19th.

Bausch + Lomb Price Performance

BLCO stock opened at $15.95 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $16.15 and a 200-day moving average of $16.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Bausch + Lomb has a 12 month low of $10.99 and a 12 month high of $18.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.59.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.02. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 4.21% and a positive return on equity of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.07) earnings per share. Bausch + Lomb’s revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Bausch + Lomb

In related news, CFO Sam Eldessouky bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.13 per share, with a total value of $68,520.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 403,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,905,616.90. This trade represents a 1.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP A Robert D. Bailey bought 14,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.15 per share, for a total transaction of $250,390.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 231,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,976,913.50. This represents a 6.72% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have purchased 33,300 shares of company stock valued at $570,868 over the last three months. 1.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BLCO. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 428.7% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 299,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,345,000 after acquiring an additional 242,993 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 0.5% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 312,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,536,000 after acquiring an additional 1,436 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. purchased a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the second quarter worth approximately $200,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 729.3% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 2,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the second quarter worth approximately $313,000. 11.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.