Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Raised to Hold at Zacks Research

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on BAX. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Baxter International from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Evercore reduced their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $24.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Baxter International in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Baxter International from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Baxter International from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.10.

Baxter International Stock Performance

Baxter International stock opened at $19.03 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $20.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 2.31. Baxter International has a fifty-two week low of $17.40 and a fifty-two week high of $37.74. The company has a market capitalization of $9.79 billion, a PE ratio of -10.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.58.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.09). Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.95% and a negative net margin of 8.51%.The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Baxter International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.850-2.050 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Baxter International will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Greenhaven Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Baxter International in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $143,186,000. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in Baxter International by 10.1% during the third quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 57,396,370 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,306,915,000 after purchasing an additional 5,274,750 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Baxter International by 477.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,725,251 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,426,547 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,510,205 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $257,174,000 after purchasing an additional 972,891 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,410,689 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $65,216,000 after purchasing an additional 894,761 shares in the last quarter. 90.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Baxter International

Baxter International Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products, pharmaceutical therapies and biotechnology-based solutions. The company’s primary business activities are organized around renal care, medication delivery, acute therapies, pharmacy automation, surgical care and biotechnology. Baxter’s offerings are designed to support patient care in hospitals, dialysis centers, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities worldwide.

In the renal care segment, Baxter provides hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis systems, water treatment equipment and related disposables, including dialyzers, bloodlines and catheters.