Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE:BLCO) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Bausch + Lomb is currently rated a “Hold” by analysts, with 14 covering the stock: one sell, nine hold, and four buy ratings. The average 1-year price target is $18.00.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.08 versus $0.06 expected and revenue of $1.24 billion versus $1.22 billion expected. Revenue rose 9.4% year over year.
• Institutional interest has been active, including a large increase in Goldman Sachs’ stake, while hedge funds and other investors own 11.07% of the stock. The shares opened at $16.69, near the middle of their 12-month range of $13.09 to $18.92.

Shares of Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Hold" by the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $18.00.

A number of equities analysts have commented on BLCO shares. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore set a $17.00 price objective on Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $16.00 target price on Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Bausch + Lomb from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Performance

BLCO stock opened at $16.69 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $15.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.51. Bausch + Lomb has a twelve month low of $13.09 and a twelve month high of $18.92. The firm has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.92, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.56.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 4.21% and a positive return on equity of 3.60%. The business's revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.07) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 428.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 299,671 shares of the company's stock worth $4,345,000 after purchasing an additional 242,993 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 312,823 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,536,000 after buying an additional 1,436 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. purchased a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $200,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 729.3% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,322 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 2,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $313,000. 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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