What Happened?
Shares of eyecare company Bausch + Lomb (NYSE: BLCO) jumped 2.2% in the morning session after Citigroup upgraded its rating on the company's shares to Buy from Neutral and raised its price target. The investment bank adjusted its price forecast to $20, up from the previous target of $16. This change in rating suggested a more positive outlook from the bank regarding the eye health company's future stock performance.
After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $17.09, up 2.1% from previous close.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Bausch + Lomb’s shares are quite volatile and have had 17 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 9 days ago when the stock gained 4.2% on the news that Morgan Stanley upgraded its rating on the stock to "Overweight" from "Equal Weight.". The investment bank also adjusted its price target, citing what it described as the strongest product pipeline in the ophthalmology, or eye care, field. According to the bank's note, several disruptive products were expected to support the company's growth in the longer term. In addition, the firm highlighted that Bausch + Lomb's efficiency measures were helping its profit margins over the next few years.
Bausch + Lomb is down 5% since the beginning of the year, and at $17.09 per share, it is trading 9.3% below its 52-week high of $18.85 from December 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Bausch + Lomb’s shares at the IPO in May 2022 would now be looking at an investment worth $854.60.
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