Baxter International Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:BAX)

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors bought 6,792 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 92% compared to the average daily volume of 3,538 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BAX shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on Baxter International from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Baxter International from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $39.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Monday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Baxter International from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Baxter International from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.20.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baxter International

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAX. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Baxter International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $140,296,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 73.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,772,533 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $226,541,000 after buying an additional 2,862,626 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC purchased a new position in Baxter International during the second quarter valued at $67,263,000. Coho Partners Ltd. purchased a new stake in Baxter International during the 3rd quarter valued at $57,229,000. Finally, Shapiro Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Baxter International by 19.7% during the second quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC now owns 3,285,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $109,885,000 after buying an additional 541,575 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Baxter International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAX traded down $0.88 during trading on Thursday, reaching $35.23. The company had a trading volume of 945,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,014,688. Baxter International has a 12 month low of $32.48 and a 12 month high of $44.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $37.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.02. Baxter International had a return on equity of 18.06% and a net margin of 16.51%. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.75 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. Baxter International’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Baxter International will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Baxter International Company Profile

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.