Royal Bank of Canada Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) Stock Price

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) had its price target dropped by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $22.00 to $18.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price points to a potential upside of 11.49% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup downgraded Bausch + Lomb from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $22.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America decreased their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bausch + Lomb currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.83.

Bausch + Lomb Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:BLCO traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $16.15. 543,464 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 658,721. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $17.47 and its 200-day moving average is $18.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.46. Bausch + Lomb has a 12-month low of $13.16 and a 12-month high of $21.69.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.02. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 7.86% and a positive return on equity of 3.17%. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.6 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 68.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 1,004 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the 4th quarter valued at $72,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the 4th quarter worth $181,000. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new stake in Bausch + Lomb during the fourth quarter valued at about $181,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd purchased a new position in Bausch + Lomb in the fourth quarter valued at about $188,000. Hedge funds and other 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.