Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Stock Rating Upgraded by Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) from an in-line rating to an outperform rating in a research note released on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. Evercore ISI currently has $25.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $19.00.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on BLCO. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore boosted their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $15.50 to $17.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.00.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of Bausch + Lomb stock opened at $20.63 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.13. Bausch + Lomb has a 52-week low of $13.16 and a 52-week high of $21.69. The firm has a market cap of $7.26 billion, a PE ratio of -21.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.48. 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 (NYSE:BLCO) last released 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 business had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 3.36% and a negative net margin of 10.15%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.18 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Brent L. Saunders acquired 32,250 shares of Bausch + Lomb stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.66 per share, with a total value of $505,035.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 595,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,320,346.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLCO. Renaissance Capital LLC lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 3,232 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 312,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,398,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in Bausch + Lomb during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $173,000. Finally, Fore Capital LLC increased its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 90.2% during the 2nd quarter. Fore Capital LLC now owns 42,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $612,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares during the period. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.