Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) from a "hold" to a "buy" rating in a report released on Saturday.
• Analysts remain mixed — 4 Buy, 10 Hold and 1 Sell — leaving an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $18.25; the stock trades around $16.82 with a ~$6.0 billion market cap and a negative PE of -16.49.
• Insiders bought shares recently (CEO Brent L. Saunders and EVP A. Robert D. Bailey each purchased ~14.6–14.7k shares), while the company posted a quarterly EPS miss of $0.32 vs. $0.35 expected but saw revenue rise 9.8% year-over-year.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Saturday.

BLCO has been the subject of a number of other reports. Evercore set a $18.00 price objective on Bausch + Lomb and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Citigroup upped their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $18.25.

Bausch + Lomb Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:BLCO opened at $16.82 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $16.88 and a 200 day moving average of $16.43. The company has a market cap of $6.00 billion, a PE ratio of -16.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Bausch + Lomb has a 12-month low of $10.45 and a 12-month high of $18.92.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 7.06% and a positive return on equity of 2.77%. The company's revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.74 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bausch + Lomb news, CEO Brent L. Saunders purchased 14,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.14 per share, for a total transaction of $251,958.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 966,575 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,567,095.50. This trade represents a 1.54% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP A Robert D. Bailey bought 14,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.15 per share, with a total value of $250,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 231,890 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,976,913.50. The trade was a 6.72% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired 33,300 shares of company stock worth $570,868 in the last three months. 0.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 104.1% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,227 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,136 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 729.3% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 31.2% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Bausch + Lomb by 55.3% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 9,112 shares of the company's stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 3,246 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. purchased a new stake in Bausch + Lomb during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $178,000. 11.07% of the stock is 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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