Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Price Target to $15.00

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has raised its price target for Bausch + Lomb (BLCO) from $12.00 to $15.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.65% from its current stock price.
• Bausch + Lomb reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.07, surpassing analysts' estimates of $0.06, and experienced a revenue increase of 5.1% year over year.
• Current analyst consensus for Bausch + Lomb is a "Hold" rating, with an average price target of $15.82, as various analysts have provided differing price objectives recently.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO - Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $12.00 to $15.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on BLCO. Barclays dropped their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on 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 dropped their price objective on 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. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $15.50 to $16.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $15.56.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of BLCO traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $13.79. 87,861 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 792,916. Bausch + Lomb has a 52 week low of $10.45 and a 52 week high of $21.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company's 50 day moving average is $12.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.86. The company has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.68, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.62.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.01. Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 2.33% and a negative net margin of 5.58%. The business had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.13 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bausch + Lomb news, CEO Brent L. Saunders purchased 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $11.28 per share, with a total value of $248,160.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 719,156 shares in the company, valued at $8,112,079.68. The trade was a 3.16% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Bausch + Lomb in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 58.5% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,502 shares of the company's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 1,662 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 93.8% in the second quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 6,200 shares of the company's stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 101.7% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,719 shares of the company's stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 3,387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the fourth quarter worth about $181,000. 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.