Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Given "Hold" Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed their hold rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO - Free Report) in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on BLCO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. HC Wainwright upped their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Evercore upped their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $15.50 to $17.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Bausch + Lomb from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $19.00 to $25.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.91.

Bausch + Lomb Price Performance

Shares of BLCO traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $20.28. 610,256 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 570,007. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.65. Bausch + Lomb has a 12-month low of $13.16 and a 12-month high of $21.69. The company has a market cap of $7.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.48. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $18.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.41.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.13. Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 3.36% and a negative net margin of 10.15%. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.18 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Bausch + Lomb news, CEO Brent L. Saunders purchased 32,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.66 per share, with a total value of $505,035.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 595,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,320,346.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,020,414 shares of the company's stock worth $38,974,000 after acquiring an additional 85,987 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Capital LLC lifted its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Renaissance Capital LLC now owns 43,560 shares of the company's stock worth $840,000 after acquiring an additional 7,274 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Bausch + Lomb during the 2nd quarter worth about $580,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 31.0% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 647,156 shares of the company's stock worth $9,397,000 after purchasing an additional 153,000 shares during the period. Finally, Clearline Capital LP increased its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 136.8% during the 2nd quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 712,055 shares of the company's stock worth $10,339,000 after purchasing an additional 411,404 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.07% of the company's stock.

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.