Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Upgraded to Overweight at Morgan Stanley

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) was upgraded by analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report issued on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $18.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $16.00. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 32.35% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $16.50 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays raised their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore lowered their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $15.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.45.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Performance

Bausch + Lomb stock opened at $13.60 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.70. Bausch + Lomb has a one year low of $13.16 and a one year high of $21.95.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 3.60% and a negative net margin of 7.81%. The business’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Eminence Capital LP increased its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 5,994,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,612,000 after acquiring an additional 626,431 shares during the period. Freshford Capital Management LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 403,062 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp grew 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 purchasing an additional 380,000 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 343,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. grew 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 purchasing an additional 333,000 shares in the last quarter. 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.