Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Sees Strong Trading Volume After Analyst Upgrade

Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday after HC Wainwright raised their price target on the stock from $19.00 to $22.00. HC Wainwright currently has a buy rating on the stock. 429,130 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 23% from the previous session's volume of 559,506 shares.The stock last traded at $19.71 and had previously closed at $19.96.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on BLCO. Evercore boosted their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $15.50 to $17.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Raymond James began coverage on Bausch + Lomb in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $19.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bausch + Lomb

In related news, CEO Brent L. Saunders purchased 32,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $15.66 per share, for a total transaction of $505,035.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 595,169 shares in the company, valued at $9,320,346.54. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Institutional Trading of Bausch + Lomb

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clearline Capital LP grew its position in Bausch + Lomb by 136.8% in the 2nd quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 712,055 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,339,000 after buying an additional 411,404 shares in the last quarter. Freshford Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 29.8% during the 4th quarter. Freshford Capital Management LLC now owns 1,754,123 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,925,000 after buying an additional 403,062 shares during the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Bausch + Lomb in the first quarter worth $6,817,000. Whitebox Advisors LLC boosted its position in Bausch + Lomb by 28.2% during the second quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC now owns 1,545,946 shares of the company's stock worth $22,447,000 after purchasing an additional 339,643 shares during the period. Finally, Rokos Capital Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the first quarter valued at about $5,602,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.07% of the company's stock.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $6.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $16.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.69.

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

Bausch + Lomb Company Profile

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.