Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) Short Interest Up 8.7% in April

Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,630,000 shares, an increase of 8.7% from the March 31st total of 1,500,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 464,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days. Approximately 4.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Performance

NYSE:BLCO opened at $13.74 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.57, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.36. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Bausch + Lomb has a 1-year low of $13.62 and a 1-year high of $21.95.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 3.70% and a negative net margin of 6.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $16.50 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bausch + Lomb currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.50.

Institutional Trading of Bausch + Lomb

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLCO. Eminence Capital LP raised its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 5,994,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,612,000 after acquiring an additional 626,431 shares in the last quarter. Freshford Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 29.8% during the 4th quarter. Freshford Capital Management LLC now owns 1,754,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,925,000 after buying an additional 403,062 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 39.1% during the 3rd quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 1,351,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,913,000 after buying an additional 380,000 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,938,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,066,000 after buying an additional 343,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 3,220,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,580,000 after buying an additional 333,000 shares in the last quarter. 11.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.