Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Upgraded at Zacks Research

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

BAX has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Citigroup raised Baxter International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $17.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Baxter International from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Baxter International from $19.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Baxter International from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Baxter International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.45.

Baxter International Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of BAX stock opened at $26.95 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $13.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.02, a PEG ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.60. Baxter International has a 1-year low of $15.73 and a 1-year high of $30.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.03.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.19. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 9.27% and a positive return on equity of 16.57%. The firm had revenue of $2.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. Baxter International’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. 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.

Institutional Trading of Baxter International

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Baxter International during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Baxter International during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new position in Baxter International during the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Baxter International in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 552.2% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,413 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 2,043 shares during the last quarter. 90.19% of the stock is 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.