Empyrean Capital Partners LP Trims Position in Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO)

Empyrean Capital Partners LP cut its position in Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO - Free Report) by 24.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 931,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 307,000 shares during the quarter. Empyrean Capital Partners LP owned about 0.26% of Bausch + Lomb worth $16,814,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BLCO. Barclays PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the 3rd quarter valued at $5,797,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the 4th quarter valued at $2,844,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the 4th quarter valued at $372,000. Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the 4th quarter valued at $665,000. Finally, Renaissance Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 116.2% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Capital LLC now owns 94,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,701,000 after buying an additional 50,622 shares in the last quarter. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLCO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $18.00 to $12.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. HC Wainwright cut their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $15.00 to $12.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $15.50.

Bausch + Lomb Price Performance

Bausch + Lomb stock traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $11.23. 657,304 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 649,977. The company has a market cap of $3.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.34, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $13.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Bausch + Lomb Co. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.03 by ($0.10). Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 6.62% and a positive return on equity of 3.35%. The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.07 EPS. The company's revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Bausch + Lomb Co. will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Bausch + Lomb 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.