Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Stock Price Down 5% – Here’s Why

Shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) dropped 5% during trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as low as $23.97 and last traded at $23.7430. Approximately 1,543,070 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 7,770,873 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.99.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on BAX shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings cut Baxter International from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Barclays initiated coverage on Baxter International in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Baxter International from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Baxter International in a report on Tuesday. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Baxter International has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $21.73.

Baxter International Trading Down 3.9%

The company’s fifty day moving average is $24.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.95. The stock has a market cap of $12.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.63, a PEG ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Baxter International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.950-2.150 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th were given a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 28th. Baxter International’s payout ratio is -1.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baxter International

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BAX. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC grew its stake in Baxter International by 52.4% during the 2nd quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 2,153 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in Baxter International during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Baxter International by 552.2% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,413 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 2,043 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EFG International AG acquired a new position in Baxter International during the second quarter worth approximately $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

About Baxter International

Baxter International Inc is a global medical products and healthcare technology company headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois. The company develops, manufactures and distributes products used in hospitals, clinics, ambulatory care centers and other healthcare settings.

Baxter’s portfolio has included intravenous therapies and administration systems, infusion pumps, connected-care technologies, surgical products, patient monitoring equipment and products used in medication preparation and delivery.