Traders Purchase Large Volume of Baxter International Put Options (NYSE:BAX)

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors bought 6,446 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 73% compared to the average volume of 3,734 put options.

Baxter International Trading Down 2.2%

Baxter International stock opened at $25.44 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $24.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. Baxter International has a 12 month low of $15.73 and a 12 month high of $30.00. The stock has a market cap of $13.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.60.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $2.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.57% and a negative net margin of 9.27%.Baxter International’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. Baxter International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.950-2.150 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Baxter International will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Baxter International’s payout ratio is currently -1.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baxter International

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Baxter International during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new position in Baxter International in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Baxter International in the third quarter worth about $27,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC lifted its stake in Baxter International by 52.4% during the second quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 2,153 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the period. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new position in Baxter International during the second quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BAX. Weiss Ratings raised Baxter International from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.45.

Baxter International Company Profile

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.