Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) Short Interest Down 13.6% in November

Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 967,300 shares, a decline of 13.6% from the October 31st total of 1,120,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 639,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Bausch + Lomb

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 14,052.2% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,255 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 3,232 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in Bausch + Lomb in the second quarter valued at approximately $173,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Bausch + Lomb in the third quarter valued at $289,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the 3rd quarter valued at about $289,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the 3rd quarter valued at about $302,000. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Performance

BLCO stock traded down $0.15 during trading on Friday, reaching $19.82. The company had a trading volume of 149,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 385,578. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.57. The company has a market cap of $6.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.46. Bausch + Lomb has a twelve month low of $13.16 and a twelve month high of $21.69. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.19.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.01. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 7.86% and a positive return on equity of 3.17%. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.22 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on BLCO. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a report on Thursday, October 31st. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Bausch + Lomb from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $19.00 to $25.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bausch + Lomb presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $20.91.

About Bausch + Lomb

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.