Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) Stock

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX - Free Report) had its price objective increased by Barclays from $125.00 to $133.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the medical equipment provider's stock.

BSX has been the topic of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of Boston Scientific in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Boston Scientific from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Boston Scientific from $117.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Erste Group Bank upgraded Boston Scientific to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $125.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Boston Scientific in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $117.50.

Boston Scientific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BSX traded down $0.14 on Thursday, hitting $106.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,875,124 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,847,640. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $101.51. Boston Scientific has a 1 year low of $71.88 and a 1 year high of $108.94. The company has a market capitalization of $156.92 billion, a PE ratio of 63.14, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The medical equipment provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.03. Boston Scientific had a return on equity of 19.39% and a net margin of 13.55%. The company had revenue of $5.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.89 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. Boston Scientific's revenue for the quarter was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Boston Scientific will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Boston Scientific

In other Boston Scientific news, EVP John Bradley Sorenson sold 4,572 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.54, for a total transaction of $477,956.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,705 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,955,420.70. This trade represents a 19.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael F. Mahoney sold 164,443 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.69, for a total value of $17,051,094.67. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,476,882 shares in the company, valued at $153,137,894.58. This trade represents a 10.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 457,144 shares of company stock worth $47,296,288 in the last ninety days. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Boston Scientific

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 127,839 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $13,731,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 40,748 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $4,377,000 after purchasing an additional 2,293 shares during the last quarter. Welch Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 4,641 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $498,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Clarendon Private LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. Clarendon Private LLC now owns 10,046 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,079,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 36.9% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 51,316 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $5,512,000 after purchasing an additional 13,840 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.07% of the company's stock.

Boston Scientific Company Profile

Boston Scientific Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets medical devices for use in various interventional medical specialties worldwide. It operates through two segments, MedSurg and Cardiovascular. The company offers devices to diagnose and treat gastrointestinal and pulmonary conditions, such as resolution clips, biliary stent systems, stents and electrocautery enhanced delivery systems, direct visualization systems, digital catheters, and single-use duodenoscopes; devices to treat urological conditions, including ureteral stents, catheters, baskets, guidewires, sheaths, balloons, single-use digital flexible ureteroscopes, holmium laser systems, artificial urinary sphincter, laser system, fiber, and hydrogel systems; and devices to treat neurological movement disorders and manage chronic pain, such as spinal cord stimulator system, proprietary programming software, radiofrequency generator, indirect decompression systems, practice optimization tools, and deep brain stimulation system.