Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Earns "Buy" Rating from HC Wainwright

Key Points

• HC Wainwright reaffirmed its “Buy” rating on Bausch + Lomb, maintaining a $21 price target that implies 22.74% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed overall: five analysts rate the stock a Buy, seven a Hold, and one a Sell, producing a consensus “Hold” rating and $18.75 price target.
• Bausch + Lomb’s latest quarterly revenue rose 9.1% year over year to $1.39 billion, exceeding estimates, although earnings per share of $0.15 fell short of the $0.16 consensus. Insiders sold 71,459 shares worth approximately $1.19 million over the past 90 days.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by stock analysts at HC Wainwright in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $21.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright's target price indicates a potential upside of 22.74% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on BLCO. Citigroup increased their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Evercore set a $17.00 price objective on Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Bausch + Lomb from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. UBS Group initiated coverage on Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. They set a "buy" rating and a $21.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $16.00 price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bausch + Lomb presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $18.75.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Down 0.8%

BLCO stock opened at $17.11 on Friday. Bausch + Lomb has a one year low of $13.77 and a one year high of $18.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.55. The firm's fifty day moving average is $16.56 and its 200 day moving average is $16.42. The firm has a market cap of $6.11 billion, a PE ratio of -35.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.56.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.01). Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 4.14% and a negative net margin of 3.21%.The firm had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.18) EPS. The company's revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.81 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bausch + Lomb news, Director Eschenbach Andrew C. Von sold 12,500 shares of Bausch + Lomb stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.50, for a total transaction of $206,250.00. Following the sale, the director owned 69,792 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,151,568. The trade was a 15.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Frederick Munsch sold 52,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.78, for a total transaction of $887,662.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 45,831 shares of the company's stock, valued at $769,044.18. This trade represents a 53.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 71,459 shares of company stock worth $1,194,370 in the last 90 days. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BLCO. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Bausch + Lomb by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 18,713 shares of the company's stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 38.2% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,757 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 1,039 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 22,000 shares of the company's stock worth $364,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 104.1% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,227 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 5,903 shares of the company's stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 1,403 shares during the period. 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.

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