Whitebox Advisors LLC Buys 150,641 Shares of Bausch + Lomb Corporation $BLCO

Key Points

• Whitebox Advisors increased its Bausch + Lomb stake by 15.8% in the first quarter, acquiring 150,641 shares for a total position of 1.10 million shares valued at approximately $17.5 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an $18.00 price target. Citigroup raised its target to $21 and issued a Buy rating, while nine analysts maintain Hold ratings.
• Bausch + Lomb reported quarterly EPS of $0.08, beating estimates by $0.02, while revenue rose 9.4% year over year to $1.24 billion. Shares opened at $16.24, within a 52-week range of $13.09 to $18.92.

Whitebox Advisors LLC increased its position in Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE:BLCO - Free Report) by 15.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,101,854 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 150,641 shares during the quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC owned about 0.31% of Bausch + Lomb worth $17,519,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 2,042 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 104.1% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,227 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 5,903 shares of the company's stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 1,403 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the 3rd quarter valued at $170,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. bought a new position in Bausch + Lomb in the 4th quarter worth $178,000. Institutional investors own 11.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup raised their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $16.00 price objective on Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings raised Bausch + Lomb from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore set a $17.00 target price on Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Bausch + Lomb from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bausch + Lomb presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $18.00.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BLCO opened at $16.24 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $5.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.56. Bausch + Lomb Corporation has a 52-week low of $13.09 and a 52-week high of $18.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.53. The firm's fifty day moving average is $15.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.45.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.07) EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Bausch + Lomb Corporation will post 0.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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