Loeb Builds Stake in Bausch + Lomb Ahead of Leadership Change

Dan Loeb's Third Point established a new position in Bausch + Lomb Corp. during the second quarter, purchasing approximately 85,000 shares valued at about $1.4 million as of June 30.

Recent news:

On October 12, Bausch + Lomb announced Thomas J. Appio was appointed interim CEO, effective immediately.

Despite the leadership change, Bausch + Lomb and Bausch Health still expect to raise their full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance, excluding acquired in-process research and development expenses.

The expected upward revision is based on strong preliminary third-quarter results and expectations for continued improvement through the remainder of 2026.

In August, the company disclosed plans to advance two first-in-class ophthalmic pipeline assets to later-stage clinical testing following recent human trial data.

Bausch + Lomb stated the FDA has agreed in principle to 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 regarding sterile drug production issues at its Tampa facility, citing inadequate sterility controls and recurring microbial contamination. The agency deemed affected products as 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 with day 15 as the primary endpoint.

Bausch + Lomb Earnings Preview: EPS and Revenue Estimates

EPS estimate: 22 cents

Revenue estimate: $1.37 billion

Analyst consensus and recent actions: The stock carries a Buy rating with an average price target of $21.67. Recent analyst actions include:

Barclays: Initiated with Overweight

Needham: Hold

Leerink Partners: Initiated with Outperform

Healthcare Sector Performance and BLCO vs. Sector

Bausch + Lomb belongs to the healthcare sector, tracked by the Healthcare Select Sector SPDR Fund, which ranked 9th among the S&P 11 sectors on Monday.

Key performance metrics:

Sector rank: 9th out of 11 sectors

Daily change: -0.70%

1-month trend: +3.83%

90-day trend: +9.51%

Stock vs. sector: Outperforming by 0.85 percentage points

Best-performing sectors Monday: Technology, Consumer Discretionary, Materials

Leadership was concentrated in growth-sensitive areas, with technology and consumer discretionary leading the market while defensive sectors lagged. On the downside, utilities and real estate were also among the weakest groups, highlighting rotation away from income-oriented sectors.

BLCO vs. HAE, MMSI, LNTH, ICUI

This peer comparison is based on a selected group of stocks for this analysis: Haemonetics Corporation, Merit Medical Systems Inc, Lantheus Holdings, Inc, MiniMed Group, Inc., and ICU Medical Inc. Over the past year, Bausch + Lomb has risen 5.14%, trailing the peer group's average return of 51.05% by 45.91 percentage points. Its performance only led or matched one peer while lagging Haemonetics Corporation, Lantheus Holdings, ICU Medical, and Merit Medical Systems.

Within the group, Haemonetics Corporation was the strongest performer with a gain of +134.21%, while MiniMed Group, Inc. was the weakest, down -2.76%. Other peers showed mixed results, 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 share price movement: As of Monday's writing, Bausch & Lomb shares were up 1.12% at $16.68.