Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Key Points

• Bausch + Lomb shares jumped 8%, opening at $18.54 versus a prior close of $17.62, after the company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results.
• The company earned $0.34 per share, beating the $0.21 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 7.3% year over year to $1.38 billion, slightly above expectations.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the stock has an average “Hold” rating and a $19.46 price target, despite upgrades from Barclays and Citigroup. Insiders sold about $1.19 million worth of shares over the past three months.

Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $17.62, but opened at $18.54. Bausch + Lomb shares last traded at $19.0670, with a volume of 228,469 shares trading hands.

The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.18 earnings per share.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on BLCO shares. Barclays raised Bausch + Lomb to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Bausch + Lomb from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $19.46.

Insider Transactions at Bausch + Lomb

In related news, Director Eschenbach Andrew C. Von sold 6,059 shares of Bausch + Lomb stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.58, for a total value of $100,458.22. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 63,733 shares in the company, valued at $1,056,693.14. This trade represents a 8.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Frederick Munsch sold 52,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.78, for a total transaction of $887,662.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 45,831 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $769,044.18. This trade represents a 53.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 71,459 shares of company stock worth $1,194,370. Insiders own 1.45% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Beach Point Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the third quarter worth $5,882,000. Whitebox Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 15.8% during the first quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC now owns 1,101,854 shares of the company's stock worth $17,519,000 after acquiring an additional 150,641 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in Bausch + Lomb in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,479,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Bausch + Lomb by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 139,266 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,214,000 after acquiring an additional 69,633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new stake in Bausch + Lomb in the 3rd quarter valued at $670,000. Institutional investors own 11.07% of the company's stock.

Bausch + Lomb Trading Up 8.0%

The stock's 50 day moving average is $17.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.75 and a beta of 0.56.

About Bausch + Lomb

Bausch + Lomb Corporation NYSE: BLCO is a global eye-health company that develops, manufactures and markets products for vision care, ophthalmic pharmaceuticals and eye surgery. The company serves consumers, eye-care professionals, hospitals and surgical centers through a portfolio spanning contact lenses, contact-lens care products, prescription medicines, over-the-counter eye-care products and surgical equipment.

Its vision-care portfolio includes the Biotrue and INFUSE contact-lens brands, as well as solutions and other products used to clean and maintain contact lenses.

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