Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Cut to “Sell” at Citigroup

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) was downgraded by research analysts at Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Thursday. They currently have a $17.00 price target on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Citigroup’s price target points to a potential downside of 12.13% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Baxter International from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Baxter International from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Baxter International in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Baxter International from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Baxter International has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $19.73.

Baxter International Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Baxter International stock opened at $19.35 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. Baxter International has a 12-month low of $15.73 and a 12-month high of $32.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.08, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.76.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.05. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 9.70% and a positive return on equity of 16.15%. The business had revenue of $2.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.62 EPS. Baxter International’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Baxter International will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Baxter International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BAX. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the third quarter worth $27,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the second quarter worth $46,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Finally, McMillan Office Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the fourth quarter worth $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

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.