Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Trading Down 6.7% – Should You Sell?

Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO)’s share price fell 6.7% on Friday . The company traded as low as $14.15 and last traded at $13.99. 178,698 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 587,951 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 price target (down from $24.00) on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Friday. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup downgraded Bausch + Lomb from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $24.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.18.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $16.30 and its 200 day moving average is $18.09.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 3.35% and a negative net margin of 6.62%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.24 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Bausch + Lomb Co. will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Bausch + Lomb by 68.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 5.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 14.7% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 24,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 3,164 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 20,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 4,065 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.