Mizuho Raises Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) Price Target to $85.00

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) had its price objective hoisted by Mizuho from $80.00 to $85.00 in a report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the medical equipment provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $65.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Boston Scientific from $71.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Boston Scientific from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Boston Scientific has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $75.09.

Boston Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BSX opened at $73.17 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $67.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.56. Boston Scientific has a 52-week low of $48.35 and a 52-week high of $74.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.78.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The medical equipment provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Boston Scientific had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 12.06%. The business had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Boston Scientific will post 2.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John Bradley Sorenson sold 16,351 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.30, for a total transaction of $1,133,124.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,509,213.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP John Bradley Sorenson sold 16,351 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.30, for a total value of $1,133,124.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 50,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,509,213.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 41,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,690,551.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,979 shares of company stock worth $3,418,529. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boston Scientific

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Boston Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at $930,626,000. FMR LLC raised its position in Boston Scientific by 6.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 125,920,357 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,648,595,000 after buying an additional 8,045,263 shares during the period. Putnam Investments LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 6,859,280 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 6,617,360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Boston Scientific by 391.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,606,253 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.