Jefferies Financial Group Cuts Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Price Target to $21.00

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) had its price target cut by Jefferies Financial Group from $25.00 to $21.00 in a research note released on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. They currently have a hold rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating and issued a $25.00 price target (down previously from $36.00) on shares of Baxter International in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $41.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Two 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.70.

Baxter International Trading Down 3.6%

Shares of BAX opened at $18.47 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $23.14 and its 200 day moving average is $26.85. Baxter International has a fifty-two week low of $18.42 and a fifty-two week high of $37.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.48 billion, a PE ratio of -61.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.30.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.09. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 1.42% and a positive return on equity of 16.96%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. Baxter International’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Baxter International has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.520-0.570 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 2.350-2.400 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Baxter International will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Baxter International

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 25.7% during the third quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,200,860 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $50,114,000 after purchasing an additional 450,350 shares during the period. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Baxter International during the third quarter valued at $2,128,000. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 2.6% during the third quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 818,889 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $18,646,000 after purchasing an additional 20,448 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 27.6% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 7,319 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 1,583 shares during the period. Finally, Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Baxter International during the third quarter valued at $432,000. 90.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Baxter International

Baxter International Inc, through its subsidiaries, develops and provides a portfolio of healthcare products worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Medical Products and Therapies, Healthcare Systems and Technologies, Pharmaceuticals, and Kidney Care. The company offers sterile intravenous (IV) solutions; infusion systems and devices; parenteral nutrition therapies; generic injectable pharmaceuticals; surgical hemostat and sealant products, advanced surgical equipment; smart bed systems; patient monitoring and diagnostic technologies; and respiratory health devices, as well as advanced equipment for the surgical space, including surgical video technologies, precision positioning devices, and other accessories.