Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Price Target Cut to $27.00 by Analysts at Citigroup

Key Points

• Citigroup lowered Baxter International’s price target from $28 to $27 while maintaining a neutral rating, implying 11.59% potential upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: two analysts rate the stock Buy, nine rate it Hold and two rate it Sell, resulting in a consensus Hold rating and an average target price of $22.36.
• Baxter reported quarterly earnings of $0.56 per share, exceeding estimates of $0.37, while revenue reached $2.96 billion versus the $2.80 billion consensus estimate; institutional investors own 90.19% of the company.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by Citigroup from $28.00 to $27.00 in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the medical instruments supplier's stock. Citigroup's price target indicates a potential upside of 11.59% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Baxter International from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Baxter International from $19.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Baxter International from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Baxter International from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Baxter International from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.36.

Baxter International Stock Performance

Shares of BAX traded up $0.70 on Monday, reaching $24.20. 6,677,446 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,936,904. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $25.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market cap of $12.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.65. Baxter International has a 12 month low of $15.73 and a 12 month high of $30.00.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $2.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 9.27% and a positive return on equity of 16.57%. The business's revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. Baxter International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.950-2.150 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Baxter International will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baxter International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CX Institutional grew its stake in shares of Baxter International by 2.3% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 19,858 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Baxter International by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 44,722 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $953,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in Baxter International by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 18,170 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 608 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC increased its stake in shares of Baxter International by 52.4% in the 2nd quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 2,153 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 740 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Baxter International by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 142,449 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $3,037,000 after buying an additional 1,111 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.19% of the company's stock.

Baxter International Company Profile

Baxter International Inc is a global healthcare company that develops and markets products used in hospitals, outpatient facilities and other care settings. Its portfolio includes intravenous solutions and administration sets, infusion pumps, parenteral nutrition products, injectable medicines, surgical products and systems for medication preparation and delivery.

The company also provides products and technologies that support anesthesia, critical care, patient monitoring and other hospital workflows.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.