Wall Street Zen Downgrades Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) to Hold

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Baxter International from a "buy" to a "hold" rating, reflecting a shift in sentiment among analysts regarding the company’s stock.
• Multiple equity analysts, including Citigroup and Wells Fargo, have also reduced their target prices on Baxter International, suggesting a cautious outlook on the stock's performance.
• Baxter International reported a missed earnings estimate for the last quarter, with EPS of $0.59, falling short of the expected $0.60, along with a revenue of $2.81 billion, slightly under analysts' expectations.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $33.00 to $24.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Baxter International from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Baxter International from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $30.11.

Baxter International Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of BAX traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $23.15. The stock had a trading volume of 4,848,699 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,058,565. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $29.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.97. The company has a market cap of $11.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -77.09, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.59. Baxter International has a 1-year low of $21.33 and a 1-year high of $40.49.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.93% and a negative net margin of 1.42%. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Baxter International will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baxter International

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dodge & Cox grew its position in shares of Baxter International by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 50,377,294 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,469,002,000 after acquiring an additional 5,779,100 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Baxter International by 40.4% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,745,709 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $50,904,000 after acquiring an additional 502,370 shares during the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG grew its position in Baxter International by 24.9% in the 1st quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 95,668 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $3,229,000 after buying an additional 19,081 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in Baxter International by 30.9% in the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 623,403 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $21,339,000 after buying an additional 147,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Baxter International by 248.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,326 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 8,074 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.19% of the company's stock.

Baxter International Company Profile

Baxter International Inc, through its subsidiaries, develops and provides a portfolio of healthcare products worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Medical Products and Therapies, Healthcare Systems and Technologies, Pharmaceuticals, and Kidney Care. The company offers sterile intravenous (IV) solutions; infusion systems and devices; parenteral nutrition therapies; generic injectable pharmaceuticals; surgical hemostat and sealant products, advanced surgical equipment; smart bed systems; patient monitoring and diagnostic technologies; and respiratory health devices, as well as advanced equipment for the surgical space, including surgical video technologies, precision positioning devices, and other accessories.