Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Stock Price Expected to Rise, HC Wainwright Analyst Says

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) had its price objective boosted by analysts at HC Wainwright from $22.00 to $23.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. HC Wainwright’s price objective points to a potential upside of 12.52% from the stock’s previous close.

BLCO has been the subject of a number of other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped 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. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Evercore boosted their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $15.50 to $17.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.36.

Bausch + Lomb Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BLCO opened at $20.44 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $7.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.38. Bausch + Lomb has a fifty-two week low of $13.16 and a fifty-two week 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 10.15% and a positive return on equity of 3.36%. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.18 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bausch + Lomb

In other news, CEO Brent L. Saunders purchased 32,250 shares of Bausch + Lomb stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.66 per share, for a total transaction of $505,035.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 595,169 shares in the company, valued at $9,320,346.54. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Point72 Europe London LLP increased its position in Bausch + Lomb by 28.9% during the second quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP now owns 653,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,489,000 after buying an additional 146,583 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $580,000. Clearline Capital LP boosted its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 136.8% during the 2nd quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 712,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,339,000 after acquiring an additional 411,404 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 390,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,663,000 after buying an additional 78,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Bausch + Lomb during the second quarter worth about $1,911,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.