Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE:BLCO) Short Interest Up 50.7% in March

Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE:BLCO) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 4,006,617 shares, a growth of 50.7% from the February 26th total of 2,659,462 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 422,793 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 9.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLCO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen cut Bausch + Lomb from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $16.00 price objective on Bausch + Lomb in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Bausch + Lomb presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.25.

Insider Activity at Bausch + Lomb

In related news, EVP A Robert D. Bailey purchased 14,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.15 per share, with a total value of $250,390.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 231,890 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,976,913.50. This represents a 6.72% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Brent L. Saunders purchased 14,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.14 per share, for a total transaction of $251,958.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 966,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,567,095.50. The trade was a 1.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders acquired 33,300 shares of company stock valued at $570,868. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLCO. Oaktree Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,801,000. Goldentree Asset Management LP boosted its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 3.0% during the third quarter. Goldentree Asset Management LP now owns 2,660,508 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,002,000 after acquiring an additional 77,323 shares in the last quarter. Compass Rose Asset Management LP grew its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 22.0% in the third quarter. Compass Rose Asset Management LP now owns 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,070,000 after purchasing an additional 180,000 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB purchased a new stake in Bausch + Lomb in the second quarter worth about $202,000. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,249,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

Bausch + Lomb Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BLCO opened at $15.38 on Monday. Bausch + Lomb has a 1 year low of $10.45 and a 1 year high of $18.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50-day moving average is $17.02 and its 200 day moving average is $16.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.03). Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 7.06% and a positive return on equity of 2.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current year.

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.