Bausch + Lomb’s (BLCO) “Hold” Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reiterated their hold rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports.

A number of other analysts have also commented on BLCO. UBS Group began coverage on Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $21.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a report on Friday, August 28th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Bausch + Lomb from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bausch + Lomb presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.15.

Bausch + Lomb Trading Down 1.6%

NYSE:BLCO opened at $16.79 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.98, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.42. Bausch + Lomb has a 12 month low of $13.77 and a 12 month high of $18.92.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.16 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 3.21% and a positive return on equity of 4.14%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.18) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Bausch + Lomb

In other Bausch + Lomb news, CAO Frederick Munsch sold 52,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.78, for a total transaction of $887,662.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 45,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $769,044.18. The trade was a 53.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eschenbach Andrew C. Von sold 6,059 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.58, for a total value of $100,458.22. Following the sale, the director directly owned 63,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,056,693.14. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 71,459 shares of company stock worth $1,194,370 in the last 90 days. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BLCO. Whitebox Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC now owns 1,101,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,519,000 after acquiring an additional 150,641 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the second quarter worth approximately $1,479,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 100.0% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 139,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,214,000 after purchasing an additional 69,633 shares during the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Bausch + Lomb in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $787,000. Finally, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bausch + Lomb in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $605,000. Institutional investors own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

About Bausch + Lomb

Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE: BLCO) is a global eye-health company that develops, manufactures and markets products for vision care, pharmaceuticals and surgical use. Its portfolio serves consumers, eye-care professionals and patients with a range of products designed to support eye health and improve vision.

The company’s vision-care business includes contact lenses and lens-care products, while its pharmaceutical portfolio includes prescription and over-the-counter treatments for conditions affecting the eyes.