Short Interest in Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) Expands By 8.7%

Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,630,000 shares, a growth of 8.7% from the March 31st total of 1,500,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 464,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days. Currently, 4.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Evercore cut their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $16.50 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $16.50 to $17.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bausch + Lomb presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $19.50.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Down 3.8 %

Bausch + Lomb stock traded down $0.58 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $14.54. The stock had a trading volume of 372,153 shares, compared to its average volume of 467,392. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $15.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.67. Bausch + Lomb has a 12 month low of $13.62 and a 12 month high of $21.95. The stock has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.07. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 6.27% and a positive return on equity of 3.70%. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.23 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.65 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Bausch + Lomb

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Bausch + Lomb during the 3rd quarter worth $466,000. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,938,207 shares of the company's stock worth $33,066,000 after buying an additional 343,772 shares in the last quarter. Black Swift Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $170,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the third quarter valued at approximately $5,091,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,752,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.07% of the company's stock.

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.