Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Raised to Strong-Buy at UBS Group

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) was upgraded by equities research analysts at UBS Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded Bausch + Lomb from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised Bausch + Lomb from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $16.00 price target on Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Evercore set a $17.00 price target on Bausch + Lomb in a report on Monday, July 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.23.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of Bausch + Lomb stock opened at $16.61 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.93 billion, a PE ratio of -26.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.56. Bausch + Lomb has a 52-week low of $13.09 and a 52-week high of $18.92. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.43.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.15. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 4.21% and a positive return on equity of 3.60%. The firm had revenue of $981.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLCO. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 428.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 299,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,345,000 after buying an additional 242,993 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,436 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. purchased a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the 2nd quarter worth $200,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 729.3% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 2,042 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the second quarter worth $313,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

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.