Short Interest in Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) Grows By 5.6%

Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,520,000 shares, an increase of 5.6% from the September 30th total of 1,440,000 shares. Approximately 3.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 744,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Up 1.1 %

BLCO stock opened at $20.51 on Friday. Bausch + Lomb has a twelve month low of $13.16 and a twelve month high of $21.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a PE ratio of -19.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50 day moving average of $18.61 and a 200 day moving average of $16.45.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 3.16% and a negative net margin of 7.86%. The business’s revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.18 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI raised Bausch + Lomb from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $19.00 to $25.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Evercore lifted their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $15.50 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bausch + Lomb has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.91.

Insider Activity at Bausch + Lomb

In related news, CEO Brent L. Saunders purchased 32,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $15.66 per share, for a total transaction of $505,035.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 595,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,320,346.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,020,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,974,000 after purchasing an additional 85,987 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Renaissance Capital LLC now owns 43,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $840,000 after acquiring an additional 7,274 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the 2nd quarter valued at $580,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 31.0% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 647,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,397,000 after acquiring an additional 153,000 shares during the period. Finally, Clearline Capital LP increased its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 136.8% in the 2nd quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 712,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,339,000 after acquiring an additional 411,404 shares during the period. 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.