Bausch + Lomb’s (BLCO) “Hold” Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on BLCO. Raymond James assumed coverage on Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $19.00 price target on the stock. Evercore dropped their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $15.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Bausch + Lomb from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $16.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $15.00 to $15.50 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.95.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Performance

Shares of Bausch + Lomb stock opened at $17.22 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Bausch + Lomb has a 12 month low of $13.16 and a 12 month high of $20.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $15.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.34.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.02). Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 7.81% and a positive return on equity of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. Bausch + Lomb’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Bausch + Lomb

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Freshford Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 29.8% in the 4th quarter. Freshford Capital Management LLC now owns 1,754,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,925,000 after purchasing an additional 403,062 shares during the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the 1st quarter valued at $6,817,000. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,938,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,066,000 after purchasing an additional 343,772 shares during the last quarter. Rokos Capital Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the 1st quarter valued at $5,602,000. Finally, Whitebox Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 29.3% in the 1st quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC now owns 1,206,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,869,000 after purchasing an additional 273,484 shares during the last quarter. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bausch + Lomb Company Profile

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.