Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE:BLCO)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $21.40 and last traded at $21.35, with a volume of 1,483,148 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.96.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BLCO. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Bausch + Lomb from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Bausch + Lomb from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $21.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bausch + Lomb presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.83.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $17.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -68.87, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.52.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.13. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 2.05% and a positive return on equity of 5.01%. The business had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.18 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Bausch + Lomb Corporation will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Bausch + Lomb

In other Bausch + Lomb news, CAO Frederick Munsch sold 112,015 shares of Bausch + Lomb stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.48, for a total transaction of $2,294,067.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 45,831 shares in the company, valued at $938,618.88. The trade was a 70.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BLCO. R Squared Ltd grew its position in Bausch + Lomb by 46.0% during the third quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 17,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 5,502 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 6.9% in the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 13,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 887 shares during the period. Beach Point Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,882,000. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new stake in Bausch + Lomb during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $670,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Bausch + Lomb

Bausch + Lomb Corporation is an eye-health company that develops, manufactures and markets products for consumers, eye-care professionals and surgical teams. Its business spans vision care, pharmaceuticals and surgical devices. Its products include contact lenses and lens-care solutions, as well as eye-health medicines and nutritional supplements. The company also supplies equipment, technologies and related products used in eye surgery and other ophthalmic procedures. Founded in Rochester, New York, in 1853 by John Jacob Bausch and Henry Lomb, the company serves customers in more than 100 countries.