Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,070,000 shares, an increase of 10.1% from the May 15th total of 1,880,000 shares. Approximately 5.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 448,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.6 days.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE BLCO opened at $14.73 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.34, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Bausch + Lomb has a 12-month low of $13.16 and a 12-month high of $21.95. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.37.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.02). Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 7.81% and a positive return on equity of 3.60%. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BLCO. Evercore decreased their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $15.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised Bausch + Lomb from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $16.00 to $18.00 in a report on Monday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.45.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eminence Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 11.7% during the third quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 5,994,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,612,000 after buying an additional 626,431 shares during the last quarter. Freshford Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 29.8% during the fourth quarter. Freshford Capital Management LLC now owns 1,754,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,925,000 after buying an additional 403,062 shares during the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the first quarter worth about $6,817,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 39.1% during the third quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 1,351,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,913,000 after buying an additional 380,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,938,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,066,000 after buying an additional 343,772 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.