Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Hits New 1-Year High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $30.00 and last traded at $28.8840, with a volume of 2873491 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.77.

The medical instruments supplier reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $2.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 9.70% and a positive return on equity of 16.15%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. Baxter International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.950-2.150 EPS.

Key Stories Impacting Baxter International

Here are the key news stories impacting Baxter International this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Baxter reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.56 per share, well above the roughly $0.36-$0.37 analyst consensus, while revenue reached $2.96 billion versus expectations of about $2.80 billion. Sales increased 5.3% year over year, indicating continued operating momentum. Baxter International Surpasses Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its fiscal 2026 outlook to adjusted EPS of $1.95-$2.15 and revenue of $11.6 billion-$11.7 billion, above consensus estimates of approximately $1.92 EPS and $11.4 billion in revenue. Baxter Raises Annual Profit Forecast on Strong Demand for IV Solutions
• Positive Sentiment: Management cited strong demand for IV solutions and broader medical products, as well as improved operating performance. The quarter also included an additional tariff refund that was not incorporated into prior guidance, helping results exceed expectations. Baxter Reports Second-Quarter 2026 Results

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BAX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore reduced their price objective on Baxter International from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Baxter International from $19.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup cut Baxter International from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the company from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Zacks Research downgraded Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $21.09.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Baxter International by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,510,205 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $257,174,000 after purchasing an additional 972,891 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Baxter International by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,410,689 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $65,216,000 after buying an additional 894,761 shares in the last quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L acquired a new position in Baxter International during the fourth quarter worth $8,525,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC increased its holdings in Baxter International by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 3,328,202 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $63,602,000 after buying an additional 356,612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Baxter International during the third quarter worth $5,862,000. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Baxter International Trading Up 16.5%

The stock has a market cap of $14.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.55, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.52.

About Baxter International

Baxter International Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products, pharmaceutical therapies and biotechnology-based solutions. The company’s primary business activities are organized around renal care, medication delivery, acute therapies, pharmacy automation, surgical care and biotechnology. Baxter’s offerings are designed to support patient care in hospitals, dialysis centers, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities worldwide.

In the renal care segment, Baxter provides hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis systems, water treatment equipment and related disposables, including dialyzers, bloodlines and catheters.