Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE:BLCO)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $18.12 and last traded at $17.9940, with a volume of 367188 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.65.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BLCO. Evercore set a $18.00 price objective on Bausch + Lomb and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. 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 report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Bausch + Lomb from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.00.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.87. The firm has a market cap of $6.30 billion, a PE ratio of -17.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.61.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bausch + Lomb Corporation will post 0.74 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 18,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 711 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 38.2% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 1,039 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 104.1% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,136 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in Bausch + Lomb by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 5,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 1,403 shares during the period. Finally, Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 312,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,536,000 after acquiring an additional 1,436 shares during the last quarter. 11.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.