Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Shares Gap Up to $13.60

Shares of Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $13.60, but opened at $14.40. Bausch + Lomb shares last traded at $14.44, with a volume of 261,762 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore cut their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $15.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Bausch + Lomb from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $16.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $16.50 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.45.

Bausch + Lomb Trading Up 3.2 %

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.57. The company has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.52, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 7.81% and a positive return on equity of 3.60%. Bausch + Lomb’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. Research analysts predict that Bausch + Lomb Co. will post 0.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Eminence Capital LP boosted its position in Bausch + Lomb by 11.7% during the third quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 5,994,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,612,000 after acquiring an additional 626,431 shares during the last quarter. Freshford Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 29.8% during the fourth quarter. Freshford Capital Management LLC now owns 1,754,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,925,000 after purchasing an additional 403,062 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 39.1% in the third quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 1,351,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,913,000 after purchasing an additional 380,000 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,938,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,066,000 after purchasing an additional 343,772 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. lifted its position in Bausch + Lomb by 11.5% during the third quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 3,220,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,580,000 after buying an additional 333,000 shares during the period. 11.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.