Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE:BLCO) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $21.40 and last traded at $21.35, with a volume of 1,483,148 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BLCO shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Bausch + Lomb from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $16.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.83.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Down 0.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $7.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -68.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.82.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.13. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 2.05% and a positive return on equity of 5.01%. The business had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.18 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Bausch + Lomb Corporation will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Bausch + Lomb

In other Bausch + Lomb news, CAO Frederick Munsch sold 112,015 shares of Bausch + Lomb stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.48, for a total value of $2,294,067.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 45,831 shares in the company, valued at approximately $938,618.88. The trade was a 70.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Wyoming raised its position in Bausch + Lomb by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 13,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 887 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 22,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 67.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,468 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Bausch + Lomb during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd increased its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 46.0% in the 3rd quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 17,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 5,502 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

About Bausch + Lomb

Bausch + Lomb Corporation is an eye-health company that develops, manufactures and markets products for consumers, eye-care professionals and surgical teams. Its business spans vision care, pharmaceuticals and surgical devices. Its products include contact lenses and lens-care solutions, as well as eye-health medicines and nutritional supplements. The company also supplies equipment, technologies and related products used in eye surgery and other ophthalmic procedures. Founded in Rochester, New York, in 1853 by John Jacob Bausch and Henry Lomb, the company serves customers in more than 100 countries.