Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Now Covered by Analysts at Leerink Partners

Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) in a report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on BLCO. Evercore set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a report on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Bausch + Lomb from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Bausch + Lomb in a report on Thursday, July 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $21.00 price target on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.15.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Performance

Shares of BLCO stock opened at $17.82 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $16.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.46. Bausch + Lomb has a 52-week low of $13.77 and a 52-week high of $18.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.37 billion, a PE ratio of -37.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.16 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 4.14% and a negative net margin of 3.21%.Bausch + Lomb’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.18) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.81 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Bausch + Lomb news, CAO Frederick Munsch sold 52,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.78, for a total value of $887,662.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 45,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $769,044.18. This represents a 53.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Eschenbach Andrew C. Von sold 6,059 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.58, for a total transaction of $100,458.22. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 63,733 shares in the company, valued at $1,056,693.14. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 71,459 shares of company stock worth $1,194,370 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bausch + Lomb

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLCO. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 729.3% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 2,042 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 104.1% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 67.1% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,468 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 5,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 1,403 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in Bausch + Lomb during the third quarter worth approximately $170,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.