Citigroup Downgrades Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) to Neutral

Citigroup lowered shares of Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO - Free Report) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. Citigroup currently has $22.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $24.00.

BLCO has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bausch + Lomb has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $20.82.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Down 12.1 %

Shares of BLCO traded down $2.49 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $18.16. 3,074,281 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 559,676. The stock has a market cap of $6.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $19.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Bausch + Lomb has a twelve month low of $13.16 and a twelve month high of $21.69.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 14,052.2% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,255 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 3,232 shares during the last quarter. Fore Capital LLC increased its position in Bausch + Lomb by 90.2% in the 2nd quarter. Fore Capital LLC now owns 42,180 shares of the company's stock valued at $612,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 53.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 67,690 shares of the company's stock worth $984,000 after acquiring an additional 23,714 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 25.0% during the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 390,000 shares of the company's stock worth $5,663,000 after purchasing an additional 78,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,911,000. 11.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.