Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Upgraded at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday,Zacks reports.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on BLCO. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Bausch + Lomb from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a report on Thursday, July 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $21.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.46.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:BLCO opened at $17.34 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a PE ratio of -36.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $17.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.43. Bausch + Lomb has a 1 year low of $13.77 and a 1 year high of $18.92.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.16 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 3.21% and a positive return on equity of 4.14%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.18) earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Bausch + Lomb

In other Bausch + Lomb news, Director Eschenbach Andrew C. Von sold 6,059 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.58, for a total transaction of $100,458.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the director 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 is available through this link. Also, CAO Frederick Munsch sold 52,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.78, for a total transaction of $887,662.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 45,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $769,044.18. This represents a 53.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 71,459 shares of company stock worth $1,194,370 over the last 90 days. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bausch + Lomb

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 22,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 67.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,468 shares in the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the third quarter worth $33,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 31.7% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 24,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $404,000 after acquiring an additional 5,861 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 16.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 65,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 9,066 shares in the last quarter. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Bausch + Lomb

Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE: BLCO) is a global eye-health company that develops, manufactures and markets products for vision care, pharmaceuticals and surgical applications. Its portfolio is intended to address a broad range of eye conditions and support patients, eye-care professionals and surgical specialists.

The company’s vision-care products include contact lenses and contact-lens-care solutions, while its pharmaceutical portfolio includes prescription and over-the-counter treatments for conditions affecting the eyes.