Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Raised to "Strong-Buy" at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays upgraded Bausch + Lomb to “strong buy,” though the broader analyst consensus remains “hold,” with an average price target of $19.46.
• Bausch + Lomb shares opened at $17.34, up 0.9%, with a market capitalization of approximately $6.2 billion. The stock has traded between $13.77 and $18.92 over the past year.
• The company’s latest quarterly revenue rose 9.1% year over year to $1.39 billion, exceeding estimates, but EPS of $0.15 fell short of the $0.16 consensus; insiders have sold about $1.19 million of stock in the past 90 days.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Barclays to a "strong-buy" rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on BLCO. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a report on Friday, August 28th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. They set a "buy" rating and a $21.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore set a $17.00 price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a report on Monday, July 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.46.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:BLCO opened at $17.34 on Wednesday. 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 current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a PE ratio of -36.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.56. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $17.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.42.

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

Insider Activity

In other Bausch + Lomb news, Director Eschenbach Andrew C. Von sold 6,059 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.58, for a total transaction of $100,458.22. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 63,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,056,693.14. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Frederick Munsch sold 52,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.78, for a total transaction of $887,662.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 45,831 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $769,044.18. This trade represents a 53.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 71,459 shares of company stock worth $1,194,370. 1.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Whitebox Advisors LLC raised its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC now owns 1,101,854 shares of the company's stock worth $17,519,000 after buying an additional 150,641 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 100.0% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 139,266 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,214,000 after acquiring an additional 69,633 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,479,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 13.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 85,779 shares of the company's stock worth $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 9,971 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 16.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 65,765 shares of the company's stock worth $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 9,066 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.07% of the company's stock.

About Bausch + Lomb

Bausch + Lomb Corporation NYSE: BLCO is a global eye-health company that develops, manufactures and markets products for vision care, pharmaceuticals and surgical applications. Its portfolio is intended to address a broad range of eye conditions and support patients, eye-care professionals and surgical specialists.

The company's vision-care products include contact lenses and contact-lens-care solutions, while its pharmaceutical portfolio includes prescription and over-the-counter treatments for conditions affecting the eyes.

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