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

Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,580,000 shares, an increase of 38.0% from the April 30th total of 1,870,000 shares. Approximately 7.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 840,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Bausch + Lomb Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:BLCO opened at $11.51 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.58. Bausch + Lomb has a one year low of $10.45 and a one year high of $21.69. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $12.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.56.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 3.35% and a negative net margin of 6.62%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.07 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.74 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America cut their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, HC Wainwright lowered their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.50.

Insider Activity at Bausch + Lomb

In other news, CEO Brent L. Saunders bought 22,000 shares of Bausch + Lomb stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $11.28 per share, for a total transaction of $248,160.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 719,156 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,112,079.68. The trade was a 3.16% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bausch + Lomb

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLCO. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Bausch + Lomb in the first quarter worth about $50,750,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 36.0% in the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 3,008,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,328,000 after purchasing an additional 796,400 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD bought a new stake in Bausch + Lomb in the fourth quarter worth about $14,122,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,218,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,996,000 after acquiring an additional 414,138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, King Street Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 55.2% during the fourth quarter. King Street Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,136,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,522,000 after acquiring an additional 404,256 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

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.