Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Given “Hold” Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reissued by Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports.

BLCO has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup lowered shares of Bausch + Lomb from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $24.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Bausch + Lomb from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.17.

Bausch + Lomb Price Performance

Shares of Bausch + Lomb stock opened at $16.29 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a PE ratio of -15.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Bausch + Lomb has a 12 month low of $13.16 and a 12 month high of $21.69. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $17.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.15.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.26 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 7.86% and a positive return on equity of 3.17%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.24 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its position in Bausch + Lomb by 4.4% during the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,020,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,974,000 after buying an additional 85,987 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 80.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 29,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 13,302 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in Bausch + Lomb in the 3rd quarter worth $302,000. Cinctive Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Bausch + Lomb during the third quarter valued at $870,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 14.7% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 24,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 3,164 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

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.