Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE:BLCO) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE:BLCO) was the target of a large growth in short interest in May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 4,063,241 shares, a growth of 62.3% from the May 14th total of 2,503,101 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 397,227 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 10.2 days.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Performance

Shares of Bausch + Lomb stock opened at $14.98 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a PE ratio of -24.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.53. Bausch + Lomb has a 1 year low of $11.44 and a 1 year high of $18.92.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 4.21% and a positive return on equity of 3.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.07) EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLCO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bausch + Lomb from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $16.00 target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.92.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BLCO. Glenview Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 210.8% during the 2nd 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 stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the 3rd quarter valued at about $14,776,000. Oaktree Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 3,245,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,909,000 after buying an additional 724,194 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 175.3% during the 3rd quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 861,053 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,976,000 after buying an additional 548,230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 428.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 299,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,345,000 after buying an additional 242,993 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.