HC Wainwright Reiterates Buy Rating for Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO)

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at HC Wainwright in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $23.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright’s target price indicates a potential upside of 23.66% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on BLCO. Morgan Stanley lowered Bausch + Lomb from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Evercore ISI raised Bausch + Lomb from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $19.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Bausch + Lomb from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bausch + Lomb currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.58.

Bausch + Lomb Price Performance

BLCO stock opened at $18.60 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $19.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.50. Bausch + Lomb has a 12-month low of $13.16 and a 12-month high of $21.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $6.55 billion, a PE ratio of -17.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.43.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.01. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 7.86% and a positive return on equity of 3.17%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.6 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 14,052.2% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 3,232 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the second quarter worth $173,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Bausch + Lomb in the 3rd quarter valued at $289,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd acquired a new position in Bausch + Lomb in the 3rd quarter valued at $289,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in Bausch + Lomb during the 3rd quarter worth $302,000. 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.