Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Barclays

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

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on BLCO. 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. 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 research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Evercore set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a report on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $21.00 target price for the company. Finally, Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.46.

Bausch + Lomb Trading Up 0.9%

BLCO opened at $17.34 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Bausch + Lomb has a 52 week low of $13.77 and a 52 week high of $18.92. The stock has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a PE ratio of -36.12, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a 50 day moving average of $17.18 and a 200-day moving average of $16.42.

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

Insider Transactions at Bausch + Lomb

In other Bausch + Lomb news, Director Eschenbach Andrew C. Von sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.50, for a total transaction of $206,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 69,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,151,568. This trade represents a 15.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Frederick Munsch sold 52,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.78, for a total transaction of $887,662.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 45,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $769,044.18. This represents a 53.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 71,459 shares of company stock worth $1,194,370. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Bausch + Lomb by 67.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,468 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 31.7% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 24,379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 5,861 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the 4th quarter worth $787,000. Institutional investors own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

Bausch + Lomb Company Profile

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.