Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Boosts Stock Holdings in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX - Free Report) by 161.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,485,696 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,536,663 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.17% of Boston Scientific worth $250,757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its holdings in Boston Scientific by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 6,836 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $690,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Boston Scientific by 38.1% during the first quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,321 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 1,191 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in Boston Scientific by 4.2% during the first quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 2,662,303 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $268,573,000 after purchasing an additional 106,847 shares during the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Boston Scientific during the first quarter worth approximately $399,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Boston Scientific by 70.5% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 389,893 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $39,332,000 after buying an additional 161,198 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on BSX shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Argus set a $130.00 target price on shares of Boston Scientific in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Boston Scientific from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $118.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $125.00 target price (up from $119.00) on shares of Boston Scientific in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $116.00.

Boston Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BSX traded down $0.97 during trading on Thursday, reaching $98.43. 9,101,174 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,537,192. Boston Scientific Co. has a 52-week low of $71.88 and a 52-week high of $107.17. The company has a 50-day moving average of $100.84 and a 200-day moving average of $98.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.68.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The medical equipment provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.08. Boston Scientific had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 11.07%. The business had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.57 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. Boston Scientific's revenue for the quarter was up 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Boston Scientific Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Boston Scientific news, EVP Joseph Michael Fitzgerald sold 56,372 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.88, for a total transaction of $5,799,551.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 178,342 shares in the company, valued at $18,347,824.96. This represents a 24.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Vance R. Brown sold 4,826 shares of Boston Scientific stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.09, for a total value of $458,904.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 36,193 shares in the company, valued at $3,441,592.37. This represents a 11.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 411,970 shares of company stock valued at $42,406,693. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Boston Scientific 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.