Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Price Target Raised to $24.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) had its price target increased by stock analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $19.00 to $24.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target indicates a potential downside of 1.62% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Barclays raised their target price on Baxter International from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup downgraded Baxter International from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $19.00 to $17.00 in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Evercore dropped their price target on shares of Baxter International from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Baxter International from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $20.73.

Baxter International Stock Up 4.5%

NYSE:BAX traded up $1.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $24.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,396,937 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,234,531. Baxter International has a 52-week low of $15.73 and a 52-week high of $29.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $20.81 and a 200-day moving average of $19.46.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.15% and a negative net margin of 9.70%.Baxter International’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.62 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Baxter International will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,510,205 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $257,174,000 after buying an additional 972,891 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 95.6% during the first quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 258,062 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,542,000 after buying an additional 126,104 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC increased its position in Baxter International by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 3,328,202 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $63,602,000 after acquiring an additional 356,612 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its position in Baxter International by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 391,250 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,477,000 after acquiring an additional 35,300 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its stake in Baxter International by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 4,452 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 827 shares during the last quarter. 90.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.