Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Hits New 1-Year Low After Analyst Downgrade

Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday after Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $18.00 to $17.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Bausch + Lomb traded as low as $12.91 and last traded at $12.96, with a volume of 1111226 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $14.35.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup downgraded Bausch + Lomb from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $22.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $15.00 price objective (down from $24.00) on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $18.82.

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Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the third quarter worth $5,797,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the 3rd quarter worth about $526,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the 3rd quarter valued at about $957,000. King Street Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $14,122,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,844,000. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Down 8.0 %

The stock has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.50 and a 200 day moving average of $17.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 6.62% and a positive return on equity of 3.35%. Bausch + Lomb's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.24 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Bausch + Lomb Co. will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current year.

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.