Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) Shares Bought by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX - Free Report) by 17.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 42,616 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,200 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $4,299,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BSX. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 40.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 73,096 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $6,529,000 after acquiring an additional 21,173 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Boston Scientific by 18.8% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 39,523 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $3,987,000 after purchasing an additional 6,264 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in shares of Boston Scientific during the first quarter valued at about $8,234,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 13.0% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,000 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the period. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 109.9% during the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 270,107 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $24,126,000 after buying an additional 141,398 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on BSX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Boston Scientific in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Boston Scientific to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Boston Scientific from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $117.50.

Boston Scientific Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:BSX traded up $0.22 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $106.69. 7,162,908 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,725,030. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.51, a PEG ratio of 2.55 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 Corporation has a 12-month low of $71.88 and a 12-month high of $108.94. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $103.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.69.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Boston Scientific news, EVP Joseph Michael Fitzgerald sold 56,372 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.88, for a total transaction of $5,799,551.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 178,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,347,824.96. The trade was a 24.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Bradley Sorenson sold 4,572 shares of the business's 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 in the company, valued at $1,955,420.70. The trade was a 19.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 461,144 shares of company stock worth $47,720,408 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

About Boston Scientific

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.