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

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reissued by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $15.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $24.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target points to a potential upside of 0.17% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on BLCO. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America cut their price target 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, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped 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 report on Wednesday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.18.

Bausch + Lomb Trading Down 4.4 %

BLCO opened at $14.98 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.49. Bausch + Lomb has a one year low of $13.16 and a one year high of $21.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $16.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.09.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.02. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 6.62% and a positive return on equity of 3.35%. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.24 earnings per share. Bausch + Lomb’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.74 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Bausch + Lomb

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 120.4% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new position in Bausch + Lomb during the 4th quarter valued at about $181,000. Tang Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 28.6% in the fourth quarter. Tang Capital Management LLC now owns 450,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $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 grew its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 34.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 13,460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the 4th quarter worth about $735,000. 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.