Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02, Briefing.com reports. Baxter International had a net margin of 16.51% and a return on equity of 18.06%. The business had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Baxter International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAX traded down $1.40 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $34.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,636,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,048,272. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Baxter International has a fifty-two week low of $32.48 and a fifty-two week high of $44.01. The company has a market capitalization of $17.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.60.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on BAX shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Baxter International from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Baxter International from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $39.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Monday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Baxter International from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Baxter International from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Baxter International has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.20.

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.