Wolfe Research Initiates Coverage on Baxter International (NYSE:BAX)

Key Points

• Wolfe Research initiated coverage of Baxter International with a “peer perform” rating, adding to a largely cautious analyst outlook. The stock has a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $21.73.
• Baxter shares fell 5.0% to $23.74 during Tuesday trading, while the company reported quarterly earnings of $0.56 per share—above the $0.37 analyst consensus—and revenue of $2.96 billion, up 5.3% year over year.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 90.19%, with BlackRock and Pzena Investment Management among investors that established major new positions during the second quarter.

Equities researchers at Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage set a "peer perform" rating on the medical instruments supplier's stock.

BAX has been the topic of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Baxter International from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Baxter International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 10th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Baxter International in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Baxter International has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $21.73.

Baxter International Trading Down 5.0%

Shares of Baxter International stock traded down $1.25 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $23.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,251,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,770,873. The company has a market capitalization of $12.27 billion, a PE ratio of -11.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.65. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $24.92 and a 200 day moving average of $21.95. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.19. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.57% and a negative net margin of 9.27%. The business had revenue of $2.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. Baxter International's revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Baxter International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.950-2.150 EPS. Analysts predict that Baxter International will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Baxter International during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,744,874,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Baxter International during the second quarter worth $1,392,098,000. Equity Investment Corp acquired a new position in shares of Baxter International in the second quarter valued at $146,815,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Baxter International in the second quarter valued at $132,993,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Baxter International in the second quarter valued at about $68,036,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.19% of the company's stock.

About Baxter International

Baxter International Inc is a global medical products and healthcare technology company headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois. The company develops, manufactures and distributes products used in hospitals, clinics, ambulatory care centers and other healthcare settings.

Baxter's portfolio has included intravenous therapies and administration systems, infusion pumps, connected-care technologies, surgical products, patient monitoring equipment and products used in medication preparation and delivery.

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