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

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

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on BLCO. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Bausch + Lomb from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup cut shares of Bausch + Lomb from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.83.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Performance

Shares of BLCO stock opened at $15.92 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.16, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $17.42 and its 200 day moving average is $18.13. Bausch + Lomb has a 12 month low of $13.16 and a 12 month high of $21.69.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.02. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 7.86% and a positive return on equity of 3.17%. The business had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.24 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 68.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 24,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 3,164 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the 4th quarter valued at $72,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 20,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 4,065 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

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.