Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) CEO Brent L. Saunders Buys 22,000 Shares

Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) CEO Brent L. Saunders bought 22,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $11.28 per share, for a total transaction of $248,160.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 719,156 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,112,079.68. This trade represents a 3.16% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Performance

BLCO stock traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $11.48. 427,967 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 671,476. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $12.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.70. Bausch + Lomb Co. has a one year low of $10.45 and a one year high of $21.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.58.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.07 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Bausch + Lomb Co. will post 0.74 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BLCO. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Bausch + Lomb in the first quarter valued at about $50,750,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its position in Bausch + Lomb by 36.0% in the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 3,008,193 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,328,000 after acquiring an additional 796,400 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD bought a new position in Bausch + Lomb in the fourth quarter valued at about $14,122,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 414,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, King Street Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 55.2% in the fourth quarter. King Street Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,136,321 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,522,000 after buying an additional 404,256 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 11.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on BLCO. HC Wainwright decreased their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $18.00 to $12.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $15.50.

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.