Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) PT Raised to $82.00

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) had its target price raised by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC from $71.00 to $82.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the medical equipment provider’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price suggests a potential upside of 11.87% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on BSX. Raymond James increased their target price on Boston Scientific from $67.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Boston Scientific from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Mizuho raised Boston Scientific from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $64.00 price objective on shares of Boston Scientific in a research report on Friday, December 29th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Boston Scientific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.27.

Boston Scientific Price Performance

BSX opened at $73.30 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company has a market cap of $107.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.78. Boston Scientific has a 12-month low of $48.35 and a 12-month high of $74.39.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The medical equipment provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.59 billion. Boston Scientific had a return on equity of 15.99% and a net margin of 11.19%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Boston Scientific will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Boston Scientific

In related news, Director Edward J. Ludwig sold 7,000 shares of Boston Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.03, for a total transaction of $455,210.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 41,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,690,551.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Edward J. Ludwig sold 7,000 shares of Boston Scientific stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.03, for a total value of $455,210.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 41,374 shares in the company, valued at $2,690,551.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel J. Brennan sold 13,662 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total transaction of $899,779.32. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 271,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,883,756.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,979 shares of company stock valued at $3,418,529. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BSX. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Boston Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at about $930,626,000. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 125,920,357 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $6,648,595,000 after buying an additional 8,045,263 shares during the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 110.5% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 13,067,570 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $755,436,000 after buying an additional 6,859,280 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 236.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,419,829 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $544,560,000 after buying an additional 6,617,360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 391.6% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,271,810 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $172,752,000 after buying an additional 2,606,253 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.07% of the company’s stock.

Boston Scientific Company Profile

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.