Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Stock Price

Key Points

• Barclays raised its Baxter price target from $20 to $23 but maintained an “underweight” rating, implying 12.42% downside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious overall: MarketBeat reports a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $23.27, with 10 Hold and 3 Sell ratings versus 1 Buy.
• Baxter beat quarterly estimates, reporting earnings per share of $0.58 versus $0.52 expected and revenue of $2.98 billion versus $2.91 billion; revenue grew 5% year over year.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by equities research analysts at Barclays from $20.00 to $23.00 in a research report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "underweight" rating on the medical instruments supplier's stock. Barclays's price target points to a potential downside of 12.42% from the stock's previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Baxter International from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Baxter International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, October 31st. Wolfe Research started coverage on Baxter International in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Baxter International from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Baxter International from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $23.27.

Baxter International Price Performance

Baxter International stock traded up $0.47 during trading on Monday, reaching $26.26. The company had a trading volume of 328,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,839,259. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $24.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.51. Baxter International has a 1-year low of $15.73 and a 1-year high of $30.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.59 billion, a PE ratio of -18.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.79.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.91 billion. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 6.23% and a positive return on equity of 16.23%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Baxter International will post 2.10 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Baxter International

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BAX. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Baxter International during the second quarter worth $1,744,874,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the second quarter valued at $1,392,098,000. Equity Investment Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the second quarter valued at $146,815,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the second quarter valued at $132,993,000. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 16,776.9% in the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 3,743,975 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $89,855,000 after buying an additional 3,721,791 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.19% of the company's stock.

About Baxter International

Baxter International is a global healthcare company that develops and supplies products used in hospitals, clinics and other care settings. Its offerings include intravenous solutions and administration sets, infusion pumps, medication-delivery systems, and products for surgical and hospital care.

The company also provides patient-monitoring and connected-care technologies, including products associated with Hillrom, which Baxter acquired in 2021. Its products and services support healthcare professionals and patients in countries around the world.

Founded in 1931, Baxter began by producing intravenous solutions.

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