Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Downgraded by Citigroup to Neutral

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) was downgraded by investment analysts at Citigroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Finviz reports. They presently have a $22.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $24.00. Citigroup’s price objective points to a potential upside of 6.43% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on BLCO. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Bausch + Lomb from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI upgraded Bausch + Lomb from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bausch + Lomb presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.82.

Bausch + Lomb Price Performance

BLCO stock opened at $20.67 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Bausch + Lomb has a 52-week low of $13.16 and a 52-week high of $21.69. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.46.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.01. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 7.86% and a positive return on equity of 3.17%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.22 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.6 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. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 5.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Bausch + Lomb by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 24,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 3,164 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 14,052.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 3,232 shares during the period. Renaissance Capital LLC increased its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Renaissance Capital LLC now owns 43,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $840,000 after buying an additional 7,274 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the 2nd quarter worth about $173,000. 11.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.