Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 14,520,000 shares, an increase of 17.8% from the December 15th total of 12,330,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,760,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BSX shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $98.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.26.

Boston Scientific Price Performance

Shares of BSX traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $98.73. The stock had a trading volume of 6,946,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,333,857. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.48. The business has a fifty day moving average of $91.00 and a 200 day moving average of $84.54. Boston Scientific has a 12 month low of $59.85 and a 12 month high of $99.14. The firm has a market cap of $145.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.60, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.80.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical equipment provider reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.04. Boston Scientific had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 17.23%. The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.50 earnings per share. Boston Scientific’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Boston Scientific will post 2.46 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Arthur C. Butcher sold 14,010 shares of Boston Scientific stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.27, for a total value of $1,250,672.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 978 shares in the company, valued at $87,306.06. This trade represents a 93.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Edward J. Ludwig sold 4,877 shares of Boston Scientific stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.63, for a total transaction of $446,879.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 39,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,610,038.74. The trade was a 11.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,989 shares of company stock worth $2,702,261 in the last 90 days. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boston Scientific

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 4.4% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 4,119,399 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $345,205,000 after acquiring an additional 173,034 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in Boston Scientific by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 105,860 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,455,000 after purchasing an additional 20,307 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Boston Scientific by 5.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,010,441 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $168,475,000 after purchasing an additional 111,724 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Boston Scientific during the second quarter valued at $482,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in Boston Scientific by 0.9% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,456,741 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $289,675,000 after purchasing an additional 30,636 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.07% of the company’s stock.

About Boston Scientific

Boston Scientific Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets medical devices for use in various interventional medical specialties worldwide. It operates through two segments, MedSurg and Cardiovascular. The company offers devices to diagnose and treat gastrointestinal and pulmonary conditions, such as resolution clips, biliary stent systems, stents and electrocautery enhanced delivery systems, direct visualization systems, digital catheters, and single-use duodenoscopes; devices to treat urological conditions, including ureteral stents, catheters, baskets, guidewires, sheaths, balloons, single-use digital flexible ureteroscopes, holmium laser systems, artificial urinary sphincter, laser system, fiber, and hydrogel systems; and devices to treat neurological movement disorders and manage chronic pain, such as spinal cord stimulator system, proprietary programming software, radiofrequency generator, indirect decompression systems, practice optimization tools, and deep brain stimulation system.