Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) Short Interest Update

Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) saw a large decline in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 967,300 shares, a decline of 13.6% from the October 31st total of 1,120,000 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 639,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BLCO. Citigroup increased their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley cut Bausch + Lomb from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Bausch + Lomb from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. King Street Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the 3rd quarter worth about $14,122,000. Clearline Capital LP grew its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 136.8% in the 2nd quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 712,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,339,000 after buying an additional 411,404 shares in the last quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC increased its position in Bausch + Lomb by 28.2% during the 2nd quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC now owns 1,545,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,447,000 after buying an additional 339,643 shares during the period. Barclays PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the third quarter worth $5,797,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the third quarter valued at about $4,331,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

Bausch + Lomb Trading Down 0.5 %

BLCO stock traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $19.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 30,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 551,080. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $19.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Bausch + Lomb has a twelve month low of $13.16 and a twelve month high of $21.69.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.01. Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 3.17% and a negative net margin of 7.86%. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.6 EPS for the current year.

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.