Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

BLCO has been the topic of several other reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $16.00 target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bausch + Lomb currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.25.

Bausch + Lomb Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE BLCO opened at $16.75 on Friday. Bausch + Lomb has a twelve month low of $10.45 and a twelve month high of $18.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.42, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $16.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.47.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.03). Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 2.77% and a negative net margin of 7.06%.The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Bausch + Lomb

In other Bausch + Lomb news, CFO Sam Eldessouky acquired 4,000 shares of Bausch + Lomb stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.13 per share, with a total value of $68,520.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 403,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,905,616.90. This trade represents a 1.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brent L. Saunders acquired 14,700 shares of Bausch + Lomb stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.14 per share, with a total value of $251,958.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 966,575 shares in the company, valued at $16,567,095.50. The trade was a 1.54% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 33,300 shares of company stock valued at $570,868. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BLCO. Glenview Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 210.8% in the 2nd quarter. Glenview Capital Management LLC now owns 1,553,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053,855 shares during the last quarter. Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Bausch + Lomb during the 3rd quarter worth $14,776,000. Oaktree Capital Management LP lifted its position in Bausch + Lomb by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 3,245,439 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,909,000 after acquiring an additional 724,194 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in Bausch + Lomb by 175.3% during the 3rd quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 861,053 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,976,000 after acquiring an additional 548,230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Bausch + Lomb by 428.7% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

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.