Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) Short Interest Up 5.6% in October

Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,520,000 shares, a growth of 5.6% from the September 30th total of 1,440,000 shares. Currently, 3.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 744,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Bausch + Lomb Price Performance

BLCO stock traded up $0.32 during trading on Friday, reaching $20.60. The company had a trading volume of 60,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 567,606. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.41. Bausch + Lomb has a twelve month low of $13.16 and a twelve month high of $21.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 3.16% and a negative net margin of 7.86%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.18 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Bausch + Lomb

In related news, CEO Brent L. Saunders bought 32,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $15.66 per share, with a total value of $505,035.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 595,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,320,346.54. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 14,052.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 3,232 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Capital LLC raised its position in Bausch + Lomb by 20.0% during the third quarter. Renaissance Capital LLC now owns 43,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $840,000 after acquiring an additional 7,274 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 3.3% in the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 312,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,398,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Bausch + Lomb in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $173,000. Finally, Fore Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 90.2% during the 2nd quarter. Fore Capital LLC now owns 42,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $612,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on BLCO shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Evercore ISI upgraded Bausch + Lomb from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $25.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James assumed coverage on Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $19.00 price target on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.91.

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.