Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Downgraded by The Goldman Sachs Group to "Neutral"

Key Points

• Baxter International has been downgraded from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating by The Goldman Sachs Group, with a price target set at $25.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.89% from the previous close.
• Other brokerages, including Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley, have also recently revised their price objectives downward, highlighting a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $34.25.
• Baxter reported a quarterly earnings miss with an EPS of $0.59, falling short of analysts' expectations, and overall revenue rose by only 4.3% year-over-year despite a challenging market environment.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note issued on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. They presently have a $25.00 price target on the medical instruments supplier's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price target points to a potential upside of 9.09% from the company's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Baxter International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 22nd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Baxter International from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Baxter International from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Baxter International from $36.00 to $33.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Baxter International from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $30.11.

Baxter International Stock Performance

NYSE:BAX traded up $0.48 on Friday, reaching $22.92. 8,014,639 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,077,404. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market cap of $11.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -76.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.59. Baxter International has a 52 week low of $21.33 and a 52 week high of $40.49. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.97.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 1.42% and a positive return on equity of 16.93%. The business's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Baxter International will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baxter International

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dodge & Cox raised its stake in Baxter International by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 50,377,294 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,469,002,000 after buying an additional 5,779,100 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Baxter International by 40.4% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,745,709 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $50,904,000 after buying an additional 502,370 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG raised its stake in Baxter International by 24.9% in the first quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 95,668 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $3,229,000 after buying an additional 19,081 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in Baxter International by 30.9% in the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 623,403 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $21,339,000 after buying an additional 147,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Baxter International by 248.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,326 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $388,000 after buying an additional 8,074 shares in the last quarter. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Baxter International Company Profile

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.