Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nineteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $123.8947.

Several research firms have commented on BSX. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Boston Scientific from $132.00 to $131.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $132.00 price target on shares of Boston Scientific in a research note on Friday, November 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Joseph Michael Fitzgerald sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.47, for a total transaction of $4,973,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 178,342 shares in the company, valued at $17,739,678.74. This trade represents a 21.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Arthur C. Butcher sold 17,313 shares of Boston Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total value of $1,758,135.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 23,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,396,580. This represents a 42.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 93,095 shares of company stock valued at $9,305,450 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Boston Scientific in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in Boston Scientific by 90.9% during the second quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 252 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. acquired a new stake in Boston Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp raised its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 200.0% in the 3rd quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp now owns 255 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Boston Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Institutional investors own 89.07% of the company’s stock.

Boston Scientific Stock Performance

NYSE BSX opened at $91.32 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $95.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.95. The stock has a market cap of $135.38 billion, a PE ratio of 48.83, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.51. Boston Scientific has a fifty-two week low of $85.98 and a fifty-two week high of $109.50.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The medical equipment provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. Boston Scientific had a return on equity of 19.46% and a net margin of 14.43%.Boston Scientific’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Boston Scientific will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boston Scientific Company Profile

Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) is a global medical device company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of products used in less-invasive medical procedures. Founded in 1979 by John Abele and Peter Nicholas, the company is headquartered in Marlborough, Massachusetts, and focuses on technologies that enable physicians to treat a wide range of cardiovascular, digestive, urologic, pulmonary and chronic pain conditions without open surgery.

Boston Scientific’s activities span product development, clinical research, regulatory affairs and commercial sales.