Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

BAX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Baxter International from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Baxter International from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Baxter International from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.00.

Baxter International Stock Up 0.1 %

Baxter International stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $36.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,827,216 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,105,129. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.04, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.50. Baxter International has a 52-week low of $31.75 and a 52-week high of $44.01.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.75 billion. Baxter International had a net margin of 16.51% and a return on equity of 18.06%. Baxter International’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Baxter International will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Baxter International

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. First PREMIER Bank purchased a new position in shares of Baxter International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Baxter International during the first quarter worth about $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Baxter International by 974.2% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,332 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp lifted its stake in Baxter International by 20.8% in the 2nd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 2,235 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Baxter International

Baxter International Inc, through its subsidiaries, develops and provides a portfolio of healthcare products worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Medical Products and Therapies, Healthcare Systems and Technologies, Pharmaceuticals, and Kidney Care. The company offers sterile intravenous (IV) solutions; infusion systems and devices; parenteral nutrition therapies; generic injectable pharmaceuticals; surgical hemostat and sealant products, advanced surgical equipment; smart bed systems; patient monitoring and diagnostic technologies; and respiratory health devices, as well as advanced equipment for the surgical space, including surgical video technologies, precision positioning devices, and other accessories.