Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $20.87, but opened at $21.33. Bausch + Lomb shares last traded at $21.26, with a volume of 359,740 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BLCO. Evercore lifted their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $15.50 to $17.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. HC Wainwright upped their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Raymond James started coverage on Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $19.00 price objective for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.00.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.48. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.01.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 10.15% and a positive return on equity of 3.36%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.18 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bausch + Lomb Co. will post 0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Bausch + Lomb news, CEO Brent L. Saunders acquired 32,250 shares of Bausch + Lomb stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $15.66 per share, for a total transaction of $505,035.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 595,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,320,346.54. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLCO. Point72 Europe London LLP lifted its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 28.9% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP now owns 653,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,489,000 after buying an additional 146,583 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the second quarter valued at about $580,000. Clearline Capital LP lifted its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 136.8% in the second quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 712,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,339,000 after acquiring an additional 411,404 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 25.0% during the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 390,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,663,000 after purchasing an additional 78,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 75.8% during the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 48,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 20,803 shares during the period. 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.