Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Boosts Position in Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX - Free Report) by 23.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,464,372 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 847,477 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.30% of Boston Scientific worth $450,241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BSX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 132,890,784 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $11,869,805,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600,062 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,165,399 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $3,230,293,000 after acquiring an additional 3,344,571 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,626,170 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $2,729,371,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041,329 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 27,899,903 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $2,492,041,000 after acquiring an additional 6,216,199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 22,312,967 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,992,994,000 after acquiring an additional 554,388 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.07% of the company's stock.

Boston Scientific Price Performance

Shares of BSX traded down $0.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $103.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,571,099 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,759,200. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Boston Scientific Corporation has a 1-year low of $71.88 and a 1-year high of $107.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.99.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The medical equipment provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.08. Boston Scientific had a return on equity of 18.67% and a net margin of 11.58%. The company had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. Boston Scientific's quarterly revenue was up 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Boston Scientific Corporation will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on BSX. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Boston Scientific to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Boston Scientific from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Erste Group Bank raised Boston Scientific to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $124.00 price objective on shares of Boston Scientific in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Boston Scientific in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Boston Scientific has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $116.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Boston Scientific news, SVP Vance R. Brown sold 4,826 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.09, for a total value of $458,904.34. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 36,193 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,441,592.37. This trade represents a 11.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Joseph Michael Fitzgerald sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.97, for a total value of $5,348,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 178,342 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,077,243.74. This trade represents a 21.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 461,970 shares of company stock valued at $47,755,193 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.50% 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.