Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at UBS Group

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) was upgraded by equities researchers at UBS Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on BLCO. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bausch + Lomb from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. Evercore set a $17.00 price target on Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $16.00 price objective on Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Bausch + Lomb from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citigroup boosted 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.23.

Bausch + Lomb Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of Bausch + Lomb stock opened at $16.61 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.93 billion, a PE ratio of -26.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.56. Bausch + Lomb has a 1-year low of $13.09 and a 1-year high of $18.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15. The firm had revenue of $981.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 4.21% and a positive return on equity of 3.60%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Glenview Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 210.8% during the second quarter. Glenview Capital Management LLC now owns 1,553,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,216,000 after buying an additional 1,053,855 shares during the last quarter. Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the third quarter worth $14,776,000. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 175.3% during the third quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 861,053 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,976,000 after acquiring an additional 548,230 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 428.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 299,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,345,000 after acquiring an additional 242,993 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whitebox Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 15.8% in 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. 11.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.