Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $19.14.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $15.00 to $15.50 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Thursday, August 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Brent L. Saunders purchased 32,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $15.66 per share, for a total transaction of $505,035.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 595,169 shares in the company, valued at $9,320,346.54. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BLCO. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Bausch + Lomb by 14,052.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 3,232 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the second quarter worth about $173,000. Fore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the first quarter valued at about $384,000. Renaissance Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Capital LLC now owns 23,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 669 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Bausch + Lomb in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $580,000. 11.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bausch + Lomb Price Performance

Bausch + Lomb stock opened at $19.04 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.70 billion, a PE ratio of -19.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.46. Bausch + Lomb has a 52 week low of $13.16 and a 52 week high of $21.00. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 10.15% and a positive return on equity of 3.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.18 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.