Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Announces Earnings Results

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02, Briefing.com reports. Baxter International had a net margin of 16.51% and a return on equity of 18.06%. The company had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Baxter International Stock Performance

BAX stock opened at $34.64 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.12. Baxter International has a 52 week low of $32.48 and a 52 week high of $44.01. The stock has a market cap of $17.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BAX. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Baxter International from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $39.00 to $30.00 in a report on Monday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Baxter International from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. 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. StockNews.com raised Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Baxter International from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.20.

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.