Billionaire Investor Took a Stake in Bausch + Lomb Before Its CEO Shake-Up

Dan Loeb‘s Third Point opened a position in Bausch + Lomb Corp. (NYSE:BLCO) in the second quarter, buying around 85,000 shares, valued at about $1.4 million, as of June 30.

Recent News:

• On Oct. 12, Bausch + Lomb announced that Thomas J. Appio has been appointed interim CEO of Bausch + Lomb, effective immediately.
• Despite the leadership shake-up, Bausch + Lomb and Bausch Health expect to raise their full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance, excluding acquired in-process research and development expenses.
• The anticipated increase follows strong preliminary third-quarter performance and expectations for continued improvement through the rest of 2026.
• In August, the company disclosed plans to push two first-in-class ophthalmic pipeline assets into advanced clinical testing following data from recent human trials.
• Bausch + Lomb said the FDA is supportive in principle of the initial study design for its oral dry age-related macular degeneration drug BL1243, with the study expected to begin in 2027.
• The company received an FDA warning letter over sterile drug manufacturing at its Tampa facility, citing inadequate aseptic controls and recurring microbial contamination. The agency deemed the affected products adulterated.
• Bausch + Lomb said its dual-action dry eye treatment failed to meet the primary endpoint at Day 29 in a Phase 2 trial but achieved a secondary endpoint at Day 15. The company plans to advance the treatment to Phase 3, using Day 15 as the primary endpoint.

Bausch + Lomb Earnings Preview: EPS and Revenue Estimates

• EPS Estimate: 22 cents (Up from 18 cents YoY)
• Revenue Estimate: $1.37 Billion (Up from $1.28 Billion YoY)

Analyst Consensus & Recent Actions: The stock carries a Buy rating with an average price forecast of $21.67. Recent analyst moves include:

Recent analyst moves include:

• Barclays: Initiated with Overweight (Target $24.00) (Oct. 7)
• Needham: Hold (Sept. 15)
• Leerink Partners: Initiated with Outperform (Target $24.00) (Sept. 9)

Healthcare (XLV) Performance Check and BLCO vs Sector

Bausch + Lomb operates in the Healthcare sector, tracked by the Healthcare Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLV), which ranks 9th out of the 11 S&P sectors on Monday.

Key Performance Indicators:

• Sector Rank: 9 of 11 sectors (Lagging)
• Daily Move: -0.70%
• 1-Month Trend: +3.83% (Outperforming)
• 90-Day Trend: +9.51% (Bullish)
• Stock vs Sector: Outperforming by 0.85 percentage points
• Top Performing Sectors Monday: Technology (XLK), Consumer Discretionary (XLY), Materials (XLB) (These are the top 3 performing sectors today, not peers of Bausch + Lomb)

Leadership is concentrated in growth-sensitive areas, with Technology and Consumer Discretionary pacing the market while defensive pockets lag. On the downside, Utilities and Real Estate are also among the weakest groups, underscoring a rotation away from yield-oriented sectors.

How BLCO Stacks Up vs HAE, MMSI, LNTH, ICUI

This peer comparison is based on a curated set of stocks selected for this analysis: Haemonetics Corporation (HAE), Merit Medical Systems Inc (MMSI), Lantheus Holdings, Inc (LNTH), MiniMed Group, Inc. (MMED), and ICU Medical Inc (ICUI). Over the past year, Bausch + Lomb gained 5.14%, trailing the peer-group average return of 51.05% by 45.91 percentage points. It finished ahead of or tied with just one peer, while trailing Haemonetics Corporation, Lantheus Holdings, ICU Medical, and Merit Medical Systems.

Within the group, Haemonetics Corporation was the strongest performer at +134.21%, while MiniMed Group, Inc. was the weakest at -2.76%. The remaining peers were mixed, with Merit Medical Systems Inc up 8.69%, ICU Medical Inc up 38.70%, and Lantheus Holdings, Inc up 76.42%.

BLCO Stock Today: Monday Price Action

BLCO Stock Price Activity: Bausch & Lomb shares are trading higher by 1.12% at $16.68 at the time of publication on Monday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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