Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Stock

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 - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $12.00 to $15.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price indicates a potential upside of 11.65% from the company's current price.

BLCO has been the subject of several other reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $15.50 to $16.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $18.00 to $12.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bausch + Lomb currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $15.82.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Performance

BLCO traded down $0.28 on Thursday, reaching $13.44. 673,122 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 791,057. The company's 50-day moving average price is $12.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.96. Bausch + Lomb has a fifty-two week low of $10.45 and a fifty-two week high of $21.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.75 billion, a PE ratio of -13.00, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.62.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.01. Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 2.62% and a negative net margin of 7.50%. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.13 EPS. Bausch + Lomb's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Brent L. Saunders bought 22,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $11.28 per share, for a total transaction of $248,160.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 719,156 shares in the company, valued at $8,112,079.68. This trade represents a 3.16% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Trexquant Investment LP grew its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 20,255 shares of the company's stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 1,108 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in Bausch + Lomb by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 312,823 shares of the company's stock worth $4,536,000 after purchasing an additional 1,436 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Bausch + Lomb by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,502 shares of the company's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 1,662 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in Bausch + Lomb in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in Bausch + Lomb by 93.8% in the 2nd quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 6,200 shares of the company's stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.

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