Baxter International Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:BAX)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Traders purchased 32,265 put options on Baxter, a 397% increase versus the average daily put volume, signaling elevated bearish positioning.
• Earnings and guidance divergence: Baxter missed quarterly EPS ($0.44 vs. $0.53) despite a revenue beat, and set FY2026 guidance of $1.85–$2.05, below the sell-side consensus of $2.48.
• Stock and analyst backdrop: Shares fell 1.6% to $17.63 (near the 12‑month low of $17), institutional ownership is about 90.19%, and analysts maintain a consensus "Hold" with a $20.10 target.

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 32,265 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 397% compared to the average daily volume of 6,487 put options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Baxter International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Baxter International during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Baxter International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Baxter International during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the second quarter worth $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.19% of the company's stock.

Baxter International Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of BAX stock traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $17.63. The company had a trading volume of 1,482,487 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,101,030. The company has a market capitalization of $9.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 2.31. Baxter International has a twelve month low of $17.00 and a twelve month high of $36.57. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $20.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.78.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.95% and a negative net margin of 8.51%.The business's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. Baxter International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.850-2.050 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Baxter International will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. Baxter International's payout ratio is presently -2.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on BAX shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Baxter International from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Baxter International from $19.00 to $15.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Baxter International from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Evercore cut their price objective on Baxter International from $24.00 to $23.00 in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Baxter International from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.10.

Baxter International Company Profile

Baxter International Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products, pharmaceutical therapies and biotechnology-based solutions. The company's primary business activities are organized around renal care, medication delivery, acute therapies, pharmacy automation, surgical care and biotechnology. Baxter's offerings are designed to support patient care in hospitals, dialysis centers, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities worldwide.

In the renal care segment, Baxter provides hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis systems, water treatment equipment and related disposables, including dialyzers, bloodlines and catheters.

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