Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the twelve research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $19.14.
Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a report on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Evercore raised their target price 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.
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In related news, CEO Brent L. Saunders purchased 32,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $15.66 per share, for a total transaction of $505,035.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 595,169 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,320,346.54. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.
A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BLCO. Freshford Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 29.8% in the fourth quarter. Freshford Capital Management LLC now owns 1,754,123 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,925,000 after purchasing an additional 403,062 shares during the period. Whitebox Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 28.2% in the second quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC now owns 1,545,946 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,447,000 after buying an additional 339,643 shares in the last quarter. Clearline Capital LP lifted 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 during the period. Point72 Europe London LLP boosted its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 28.9% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP now owns 653,492 shares of the company's stock worth $9,489,000 after acquiring an additional 146,583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 31.0% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 647,156 shares of the company's stock worth $9,397,000 after acquiring an additional 153,000 shares during the period. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
NYSE BLCO opened at $19.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.83, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.46. The firm's 50-day moving average is $16.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.78. Bausch + Lomb has a 12 month low of $13.16 and a 12 month high of $21.00.
Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13. Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 3.36% and a negative net margin of 10.15%. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.18 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current year.
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.
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