Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Stock Rating Upgraded by Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) from an in-line rating to an outperform rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Evercore ISI currently has $25.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $19.00.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore upped their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $15.50 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bausch + Lomb has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.00.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Performance

Shares of BLCO opened at $20.63 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Bausch + Lomb has a one year low of $13.16 and a one year high of $21.69. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.26 billion, a PE ratio of -21.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.48.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.13. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 10.15% and a positive return on equity of 3.36%. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.18 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Brent L. Saunders purchased 32,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $15.66 per share, for a total transaction of $505,035.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 595,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,320,346.54. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 14,052.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 3,232 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the second quarter valued at $173,000. Fore Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the first quarter valued at $384,000. Renaissance Capital LLC raised its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 3.0% during the first quarter. Renaissance Capital LLC now owns 23,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the second quarter valued at $580,000. 11.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.