Short Interest in Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) Grows By 5.6%

Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,520,000 shares, a growth of 5.6% from the September 30th total of 1,440,000 shares. Currently, 3.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 744,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE:BLCO opened at $20.44 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $18.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.38. Bausch + Lomb has a 52-week low of $13.16 and a 52-week high of $21.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.65. The company has a market cap of $7.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.48.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 10.15% and a positive return on equity of 3.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.18 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.6 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLCO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Raymond James assumed coverage on Bausch + Lomb in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $19.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore boosted their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $15.50 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.36.

Insider Activity at Bausch + Lomb

In other news, CEO Brent L. Saunders purchased 32,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $15.66 per share, for a total transaction of $505,035.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 595,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,320,346.54. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bausch + Lomb

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,020,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,974,000 after acquiring an additional 85,987 shares during the last quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 28.2% during the 2nd quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC now owns 1,545,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,447,000 after acquiring an additional 339,643 shares during the last quarter. Clearline Capital LP raised its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 136.8% during the 2nd quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 712,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,339,000 after acquiring an additional 411,404 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP raised its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 28.9% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP now owns 653,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,489,000 after acquiring an additional 146,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 31.0% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 647,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,397,000 after acquiring an additional 153,000 shares during 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.