Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Stock Price Expected to Rise, HC Wainwright Analyst Says

Key Points

• HC Wainwright has raised its target price for Bausch + Lomb from $15.00 to $16.00, suggesting a potential upside of 19.09% from its current price.
• The stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" from analysts and has experienced mixed responses, with one sell rating, eight hold ratings, and three buy ratings.
• Bausch + Lomb reported a earnings per share of $0.07 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and its revenue increased by 5.1% year-over-year to $1.28 billion.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO - Free Report) had its target price increased by HC Wainwright from $15.00 to $16.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. HC Wainwright currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $15.50 to $16.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $15.56.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLCO traded up $0.29 during trading on Thursday, hitting $13.79. The stock had a trading volume of 87,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 792,916. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.62. Bausch + Lomb has a 12-month low of $10.45 and a 12-month high of $21.69.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.25 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 2.33% and a negative net margin of 5.58%. Bausch + Lomb's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Brent L. Saunders acquired 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $11.28 per share, with a total value of $248,160.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 719,156 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,112,079.68. This represents a 3.16% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLCO. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Bausch + Lomb during the first quarter worth $50,750,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD acquired a new position in Bausch + Lomb during the fourth quarter worth $14,122,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 136.6% during the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 769,000 shares of the company's stock worth $10,005,000 after buying an additional 444,000 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,218,431 shares of the company's stock worth $21,996,000 after buying an additional 414,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, King Street Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 55.2% during the fourth quarter. King Street Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,136,321 shares of the company's stock worth $20,522,000 after buying an additional 404,256 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.07% of the company's stock.

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.