Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,070,000 shares, a growth of 10.1% from the May 15th total of 1,880,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 448,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.6 days. Approximately 5.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Performance

Shares of BLCO opened at $14.73 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $14.87 and its 200-day moving average is $15.37. Bausch + Lomb has a 12 month low of $13.16 and a 12 month high of $21.95. The firm has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.02). Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 3.60% and a negative net margin of 7.81%. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on BLCO. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $16.50 to $17.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Evercore reduced 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, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bausch + Lomb currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.45.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eminence Capital LP grew its stake 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 buying an additional 626,431 shares during the last quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. grew its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 3,220,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,580,000 after buying an additional 333,000 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its position in Bausch + Lomb by 21.6% in 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 during the last quarter. Freshford Capital Management LLC increased 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 during the period. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp raised its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 39.1% during the third quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 1,351,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,913,000 after buying an additional 380,000 shares during the last quarter. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.