Whitebox Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Bausch + Lomb Corporation $BLCO

Whitebox Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE:BLCO) by 15.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,101,854 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 150,641 shares during the quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC’s holdings in Bausch + Lomb were worth $17,519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Glenview Capital Management LLC increased its position in Bausch + Lomb by 210.8% in the second quarter. Glenview Capital Management LLC now owns 1,553,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053,855 shares during the last quarter. Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP bought a new position in Bausch + Lomb during the third quarter valued at $14,776,000. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in Bausch + Lomb by 175.3% during the third quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 861,053 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,976,000 after purchasing an additional 548,230 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 428.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 299,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,345,000 after buying an additional 242,993 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the 3rd quarter worth $2,249,000. 11.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on BLCO shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Bausch + Lomb from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $16.00 price target on Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Evercore set a $17.00 price objective on Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Bausch + Lomb from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.00.

Bausch + Lomb Price Performance

Bausch + Lomb stock opened at $16.24 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $15.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.80 billion, a PE ratio of -26.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Bausch + Lomb Corporation has a 12-month low of $13.09 and a 12-month high of $18.92.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.22 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 4.21% and a positive return on equity of 3.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.07) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Bausch + Lomb Corporation will post 0.82 EPS for the current year.

Bausch + Lomb 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.