Morgan Stanley Downgrades Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) to Equal Weight

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) was downgraded by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report issued on Monday, MarketBeat reports. They presently have a $19.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective points to a potential downside of 3.26% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on BLCO. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup increased their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bausch + Lomb has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.00.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:BLCO opened at $19.64 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $19.79 and its 200-day moving average is $17.24. Bausch + Lomb has a 1 year low of $13.16 and a 1 year high of $21.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 7.86% and a positive return on equity of 3.17%. Bausch + Lomb’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.22 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Bausch + Lomb

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 14,052.2% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 3,232 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Bausch + Lomb in the 2nd quarter worth $173,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the third quarter valued at about $289,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the third quarter worth about $289,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the third quarter worth about $302,000. 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.