Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Receives "Equal Weight" Rating from Wells Fargo & Company

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "equal weight" rating reissued by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $15.00 price objective on the stock, down from their previous price objective of $24.00. Wells Fargo & Company's target price points to a potential upside of 12.36% from the stock's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Bausch + Lomb from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $19.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Citigroup downgraded shares of Bausch + Lomb from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bausch + Lomb presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $18.91.

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Bausch + Lomb Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BLCO traded down $1.00 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $13.35. 460,941 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 668,295. The company has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.67, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Bausch + Lomb has a 12-month low of $13.16 and a 12-month high of $21.69. The business's fifty day moving average price is $16.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.06.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.25 EPS 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 analysts' expectations of $1.26 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 6.62% and a positive return on equity of 3.35%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.24 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Bausch + Lomb

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 120.4% during the fourth quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 33,062 shares of the company's stock valued at $597,000 after acquiring an additional 18,062 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the fourth quarter worth $181,000. Tang Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. Tang Capital Management LLC now owns 450,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,127,000 after purchasing an additional 100,000 shares in the last quarter. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 34.5% during the fourth quarter. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 52,460 shares of the company's stock valued at $947,000 after buying an additional 13,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in Bausch + Lomb in the 4th quarter worth about $735,000. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.