Wells Fargo & Company Reiterates Equal Weight Rating for Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO)

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $15.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $24.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 0.17% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on BLCO. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Bausch + Lomb from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $24.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.18.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BLCO opened at $14.98 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $16.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.60 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.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.02. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 6.62% and a positive return on equity of 3.35%. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.24 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 68.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Bausch + Lomb during the 4th quarter valued at $72,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the 4th quarter valued at about $181,000. Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bausch + Lomb during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $181,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the 4th quarter worth $188,000. 11.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.