Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Stock Gets Downgrade from Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Baxter International from “buy” to “hold.” The broader analyst consensus is “Reduce,” with one Buy, nine Hold and three Sell ratings and an average price target of $21.73.
• Baxter shares opened at $24.33, compared with a 52-week range of $15.73 to $30.00. The company most recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.56 in EPS versus a $0.37 estimate and $2.96 billion in revenue versus a $2.80 billion forecast.
• Institutional investors own approximately 90.19% of Baxter’s stock, with several funds increasing their positions during the second and third quarters.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Baxter International from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Baxter International from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 5th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Baxter International in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Baxter International from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $21.73.

Baxter International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAX opened at $24.33 on Friday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $25.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.95. Baxter International has a one year low of $15.73 and a one year high of $30.00. The firm has a market cap of $12.58 billion, a PE ratio of -11.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. CX Institutional raised its position in Baxter International by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 19,858 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $477,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Core Capital Management & Research inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Baxter International during the 2nd quarter worth about $202,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in Baxter International by 22.8% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 164,400 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $3,505,000 after purchasing an additional 30,510 shares in the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Baxter International by 15.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,143 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 1,663 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Baxter International during the second quarter worth about $161,000. 90.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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