Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Short Interest Update

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,790,000 shares, an increase of 6.3% from the September 30th total of 12,030,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,940,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baxter International

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP acquired a new position in Baxter International during the 3rd quarter worth about $114,000. National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of Baxter International by 22.1% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,154,616 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $43,841,000 after purchasing an additional 208,726 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 11.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 61,878 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,257,000 after purchasing an additional 6,168 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 23.2% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cigna Investments Inc. New purchased a new stake in Baxter International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $201,000. 90.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BAX has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Baxter International from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley downgraded 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. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Baxter International from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Baxter International from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.20.

Baxter International Price Performance

Shares of BAX stock traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $35.87. The company had a trading volume of 3,117,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,043,113. Baxter International has a 12-month low of $32.28 and a 12-month high of $44.01. The company has a market capitalization of $18.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.43, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $37.64 and a 200-day moving average of $36.29.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.75 billion. Baxter International had a net margin of 16.51% and a return on equity of 18.06%. Baxter International’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Baxter International will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

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.