Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Makes New $8.73 Million Investment in Boston Scientific Corporation $BSX

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 89,421 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,730,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of BSX. Steph & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Boston Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new stake in Boston Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. FWL Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Boston Scientific in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in Boston Scientific by 90.9% during the second quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 252 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in Boston Scientific during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 89.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Boston Scientific news, Director Ellen M. Zane sold 12,891 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.28, for a total value of $1,266,927.48. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 24,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,371,889.52. This represents a 34.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Arthur C. Butcher sold 17,313 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total value of $1,758,135.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 23,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,396,580. This trade represents a 42.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 93,095 shares of company stock worth $9,305,450 in the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BSX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Barclays increased their price target on Boston Scientific from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Boston Scientific from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Boston Scientific in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Boston Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.89.

Boston Scientific Stock Performance

NYSE:BSX opened at $91.74 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $96.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $136.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.06, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.67. Boston Scientific Corporation has a 1-year low of $85.98 and a 1-year high of $109.50.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The medical equipment provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.97 billion. Boston Scientific had a return on equity of 19.46% and a net margin of 14.43%.The company’s revenue was up 20.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Boston Scientific Corporation will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boston Scientific Profile

Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) is a global medical device company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of products used in less-invasive medical procedures. Founded in 1979 by John Abele and Peter Nicholas, the company is headquartered in Marlborough, Massachusetts, and focuses on technologies that enable physicians to treat a wide range of cardiovascular, digestive, urologic, pulmonary and chronic pain conditions without open surgery.

Boston Scientific’s activities span product development, clinical research, regulatory affairs and commercial sales.