Opinion ID: 350232
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Bausch & Lomb Introduces Soflens

Text: 3 The fortunes of Bausch & Lomb, Inc. (B & L), one of the nation's leading optical manufacturers, changed dramatically in March 1971, when it secured the Food and Drug Administration's approval to market the first hydrophilic 3 soft contact lens in the United States. Because the new product, trade named Soflens, was more comfortable than the conventional hard contact lens, it was eagerly received by ophthalmic practitioners in a nationwide series of introductory symposia sponsored by B & L between May and November 1971. Soflens sales soon significantly increased B & L's profits. Annual earnings grew 50 percent in 1971 compared to the previous year, and earnings in the last quarter of 1971 rose to $1.02 per share, almost triple those of the same quarter in 1970. The increment was almost completely attributable to Soflens. 4 As earnings skyrocketed, the value of B & L's stock soared on the New York and Pacific stock exchanges. The price of a B & L share jumped from $46 in March 1971 to a peak of $194.75 on January 28, 1972, and B & L was dubbed a glamor stock. But, like any infatuation, the investment community's love affair with B & L faded swiftly as Soflens' imperfections became increasingly apparent during the first quarter of 1972. 5