Verition Fund Management LLC Makes New Investment in Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO)

Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 15,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $302,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 4.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 85,987 shares in the last quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 28.2% in the second quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC now owns 1,545,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,447,000 after buying an additional 339,643 shares during the last quarter. Clearline Capital LP lifted its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 136.8% during the second quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 712,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,339,000 after buying an additional 411,404 shares during the period. Point72 Europe London LLP boosted its position in Bausch + Lomb by 28.9% during the second quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP now owns 653,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,489,000 after acquiring an additional 146,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 31.0% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 647,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,397,000 after acquiring an additional 153,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

Bausch + Lomb Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE BLCO opened at $18.60 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.52. Bausch + Lomb Co. has a 52 week low of $13.16 and a 52 week high of $21.69. The stock has a market cap of $6.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.71, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.01. Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 3.17% and a negative net margin of 7.86%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Bausch + Lomb Co. will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on BLCO shares. Citigroup downgraded Bausch + Lomb from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.58.

Bausch + Lomb Company Profile

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.