Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Shares of Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $19.82, but opened at $19.25. Bausch + Lomb shares last traded at $19.28, with a volume of 52,223 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Bausch + Lomb from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Bausch + Lomb from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.00.

Bausch + Lomb Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business’s 50-day moving average is $19.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.21. The company has a market capitalization of $6.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.46.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.01. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 7.86% and a positive return on equity of 3.17%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Bausch + Lomb Co. will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Bausch + Lomb

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 5.6% in the third 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 period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 14.7% in the third 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 period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 14,052.2% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 3,232 shares during the period. Renaissance Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 20.0% in the third quarter. Renaissance Capital LLC now owns 43,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $840,000 after purchasing an additional 7,274 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the second quarter valued at approximately $173,000. Institutional investors 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.