Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) Short Interest Up 52.5% in February

Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,860,000 shares, a growth of 52.5% from the February 13th total of 1,220,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 631,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days. Approximately 5.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on BLCO. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup lowered shares of Bausch + Lomb from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $24.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.00.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:BLCO traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $15.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 218,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 578,859. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $16.67 and a 200-day moving average of $18.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.92, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.49. Bausch + Lomb has a 12-month low of $13.16 and a 12-month high of $21.69.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.02. Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 3.35% and a negative net margin of 6.62%. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.24 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 68.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 1,004 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the 4th quarter valued at about $72,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the fourth quarter worth approximately $181,000. Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $181,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd bought a new position in Bausch + Lomb during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $188,000. 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.