Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Bausch + Lomb has received a "hold" rating upgrade from Zacks Research, indicating a cautious outlook for the stock.
• Wells Fargo and Citigroup both raised their price targets for Bausch + Lomb to $15.00, reflecting increasing optimism among analysts.
• CEO Brent L. Saunders purchased 22,000 shares of the company recently, signaling confidence in the firm's future performance.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Zacks Research to a "hold" rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup increased their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $15.50 to $16.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $15.56.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Down 0.7%

BLCO opened at $14.08 on Tuesday. Bausch + Lomb has a 1-year low of $10.45 and a 1-year high of $21.69. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $13.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a PE ratio of -18.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.62.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion for 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bausch + Lomb news, CEO Brent L. Saunders acquired 22,000 shares of Bausch + Lomb stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $11.28 per share, with a total value of $248,160.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 719,156 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 through this link. 0.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bausch + Lomb

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BLCO. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Bausch + Lomb in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 729.3% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,322 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 2,042 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 58.5% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,502 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 1,662 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 93.8% during the second quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 6,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 101.7% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,719 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 3,387 shares in the last quarter. 11.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Bausch + Lomb

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.