Wall Street Zen Downgrades Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) to Hold

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on BAX. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Baxter International from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Baxter International from $25.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $15.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Argus cut shares of Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $21.40.

Baxter International Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:BAX opened at $21.74 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.18 billion, a PE ratio of -32.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.59. Baxter International has a 1 year low of $17.40 and a 1 year high of $37.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $19.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.43.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baxter International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cooke & Bieler LP increased its stake in Baxter International by 25.7% in the third quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,200,860 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $50,114,000 after purchasing an additional 450,350 shares in the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Baxter International in the 3rd quarter valued at $143,186,000. Cullen Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Baxter International by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,651,542 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $50,009,000 after buying an additional 155,415 shares in the last quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,128,000. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC raised its stake in Baxter International by 20.6% during the 2nd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 574,700 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $17,402,000 after buying an additional 98,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Baxter International Company Profile

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.