Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Given New $24.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) had its target price lifted by equities researchers at Citigroup from $20.00 to $24.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s price target indicates a potential upside of 17.02% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on BLCO. 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 note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Raymond James began coverage on Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $19.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI raised Bausch + Lomb from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.91.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of BLCO opened at $20.51 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.65. Bausch + Lomb has a one year low of $13.16 and a one year high of $21.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.53, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $18.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.45.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 3.16% and a negative net margin of 7.86%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.18 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Brent L. Saunders bought 32,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.66 per share, with a total value of $505,035.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 595,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,320,346.54. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clearline Capital LP increased its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 136.8% during the 2nd quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 712,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,339,000 after purchasing an additional 411,404 shares during the period. Invenomic Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Bausch + Lomb during the 1st quarter worth about $6,817,000. Whitebox Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 28.2% during the 2nd quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC now owns 1,545,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,447,000 after purchasing an additional 339,643 shares during the period. Rokos Capital Management LLP purchased a new stake in Bausch + Lomb during the 1st quarter worth about $5,602,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 31.0% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 647,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,397,000 after purchasing an additional 153,000 shares during the period. 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.