Short Interest in Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE:BLCO) Increases By 62.3%

Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE:BLCO) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 4,063,241 shares, a growth of 62.3% from the May 14th total of 2,503,101 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 397,227 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 10.2 days.

Bausch + Lomb Price Performance

BLCO stock opened at $14.99 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a PE ratio of -24.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50-day moving average is $15.94 and its 200-day moving average is $16.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Bausch + Lomb has a 1 year low of $11.44 and a 1 year high of $18.92.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.02. Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 3.60% and a negative net margin of 4.21%.The business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.07) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Bausch + Lomb will post 0.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bausch + Lomb

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BLCO. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in Bausch + Lomb by 729.3% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 2,042 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Bausch + Lomb by 104.1% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,136 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 67.1% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 1,468 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 5,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 1,403 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 55.3% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 9,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 3,246 shares during the last quarter. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BLCO shares. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $16.00 target price on Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Citigroup set a $19.00 target price on Bausch + Lomb and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $16.00 price target on Bausch + Lomb in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.92.

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.