Short Interest in Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE:BLCO) Increases By 50.7%

Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE:BLCO) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 4,006,617 shares, a growth of 50.7% from the February 26th total of 2,659,462 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 422,793 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 9.5 days.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of NYSE:BLCO traded down $0.51 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $15.38. 316,503 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 426,070. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Bausch + Lomb has a 12 month low of $10.45 and a 12 month high of $18.92. The company has a market cap of $5.46 billion, a PE ratio of -15.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $17.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.29.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 7.06% and a positive return on equity of 2.77%. Bausch + Lomb’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.25 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Bausch + Lomb news, EVP A Robert D. Bailey bought 14,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.15 per share, for a total transaction of $250,390.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 231,890 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,976,913.50. This trade represents a 6.72% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sam Eldessouky bought 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.13 per share, with a total value of $68,520.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 403,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,905,616.90. This trade represents a 1.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have acquired 33,300 shares of company stock valued at $570,868 in the last ninety days. 0.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Oaktree Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 3,382,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,777,000 after buying an additional 137,300 shares during the last quarter. Goldentree Asset Management LP raised its position in Bausch + Lomb by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Goldentree Asset Management LP now owns 2,660,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,002,000 after buying an additional 77,323 shares during the last quarter. Glenview Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,053,855 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,260,306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,527,000 after acquiring an additional 23,340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compass Rose Asset Management LP boosted its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter. Compass Rose Asset Management LP now owns 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,070,000 after acquiring an additional 180,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on BLCO. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Evercore set a $18.00 price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Bausch + Lomb from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.25.

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.