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

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

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup raised shares of Baxter International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $17.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Baxter International from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Baxter International from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.45.

Baxter International Stock Down 2.4%

BAX opened at $26.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.95. The company has a market cap of $13.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.02, a PEG ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.60. Baxter International has a one year low of $15.73 and a one year high of $30.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $22.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.03.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.19. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.57% and a negative net margin of 9.27%.The business had revenue of $2.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Baxter International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.950-2.150 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Baxter International will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baxter International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BAX. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Baxter International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Baxter International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new stake in Baxter International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Baxter International in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 552.2% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,413 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 2,043 shares during the period. 90.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.