Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Upgraded by Evercore ISI to Outperform

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

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore increased their price target 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. Needham & Company LLC restated a hold rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. 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 an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $20.00.

Bausch + Lomb Price Performance

NYSE:BLCO opened at $20.74 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $17.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.04. The firm has a market cap of $7.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.60, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.65. Bausch + Lomb has a one year low of $13.16 and a one year high of $21.69.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 3.36% and a negative net margin of 10.15%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.18 EPS. Research analysts expect that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Bausch + Lomb

In other Bausch + Lomb news, CEO Brent L. Saunders purchased 32,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $15.66 per share, with a total value 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BLCO. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the second quarter valued at about $580,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 153,000 shares during the last quarter. Clearline Capital LP grew its stake 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 buying an additional 411,404 shares during the period. Point72 Europe London LLP increased its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 28.9% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP now owns 653,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,489,000 after buying an additional 146,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $173,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.