Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE:BLCO) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE:BLCO) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 2,659,462 shares, a decrease of 15.9% from the February 12th total of 3,163,577 shares. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 592,081 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.5 days. Based on an average trading volume of 592,081 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.5 days. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on BLCO shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $16.00 price objective on Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Bausch + Lomb from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.25.

Insider Activity at Bausch + Lomb

In other news, CFO Sam Eldessouky bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.13 per share, with a total value of $68,520.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 403,130 shares in the company, valued at $6,905,616.90. The trade was a 1.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brent L. Saunders bought 14,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $17.14 per share, for a total transaction of $251,958.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 966,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,567,095.50. The trade was a 1.54% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 33,300 shares of company stock worth $570,868. 0.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bausch + Lomb

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Oaktree Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 3,382,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,777,000 after purchasing an additional 137,300 shares in the last quarter. Goldentree Asset Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 3.0% in the third quarter. Goldentree Asset Management LP now owns 2,660,508 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,002,000 after purchasing an additional 77,323 shares during the last quarter. Glenview Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 210.8% in the second quarter. Glenview Capital Management LLC now owns 1,553,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053,855 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,260,306 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,527,000 after buying an additional 23,340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compass Rose Asset Management LP boosted its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 22.0% during the third quarter. Compass Rose Asset Management LP now owns 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,070,000 after buying an additional 180,000 shares during the last quarter. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bausch + Lomb Price Performance

NYSE:BLCO traded up $0.37 on Monday, reaching $16.57. 180,229 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 399,874. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.23. Bausch + Lomb has a 12 month low of $10.45 and a 12 month high of $18.92. The firm has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a PE ratio of -16.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.03). Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 2.77% and a negative net margin of 7.06%.The business had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.25 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast 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.