Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Price Target to $40.00

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) had its price objective lowered by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $44.00 to $40.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 6.84% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on BAX. Morgan Stanley downgraded Baxter International from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $39.00 to $30.00 in a report on Monday, July 15th. TD Cowen downgraded Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Baxter International from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Citigroup dropped their price target on Baxter International from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Baxter International in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Baxter International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.55.

Baxter International Price Performance

Shares of BAX stock traded up $0.52 on Wednesday, hitting $37.44. 1,182,464 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,243,691. Baxter International has a 12 month low of $31.01 and a 12 month high of $44.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a 50 day moving average of $34.32 and a 200 day moving average of $37.92. The stock has a market cap of $19.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.57.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.75 billion. Baxter International had a net margin of 17.79% and a return on equity of 18.47%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Baxter International will post 2.91 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Baxter International

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BAX. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Baxter International during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Baxter International by 205.4% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 953 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Baxter International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Baxter International during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, CKW Financial Group purchased a new stake in Baxter International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. 90.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.