Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on BAX. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Baxter International in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Baxter International from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Baxter International from $24.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Baxter International in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Baxter International from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Baxter International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.40.

Baxter International Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE BAX opened at $20.13 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business’s 50 day moving average is $19.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.49. Baxter International has a 52-week low of $17.40 and a 52-week high of $37.74. The firm has a market cap of $10.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.50, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.59.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 17.38% and a negative net margin of 3.09%.Baxter International’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. Baxter International has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.520-0.570 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 2.350-2.400 EPS. Research analysts predict that Baxter International will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baxter International

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 169.6% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 984 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Baxter International by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $124,000 after acquiring an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in Baxter International by 40.1% in the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,831 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 810 shares during the last quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Baxter International in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in Baxter International by 0.6% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 160,033 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,644,000 after acquiring an additional 993 shares in the last quarter. 90.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Baxter International Company Profile

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.