Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on BSX. Barclays lifted their price objective on Boston Scientific from $111.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Boston Scientific from $119.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $105.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $107.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.39.

Boston Scientific Price Performance

NYSE:BSX traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $105.41. 5,977,501 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,049,724. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $155.36 billion, a PE ratio of 84.33, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.80. Boston Scientific has a 12 month low of $65.33 and a 12 month high of $107.17. The company has a fifty day moving average of $97.69 and a 200 day moving average of $89.06.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.05. Boston Scientific had a return on equity of 18.11% and a net margin of 11.07%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Boston Scientific will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Boston Scientific

In other news, CFO Daniel J. Brennan sold 67,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.24, for a total value of $7,086,124.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 225,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,764,033.92. This represents a 22.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Bradley Sorenson sold 1,201 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.31, for a total transaction of $127,678.31. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,704,845.33. The trade was a 4.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 153,640 shares of company stock valued at $15,718,289 in the last 90 days. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Boston Scientific

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Boston Scientific by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 132,890,784 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $11,869,805,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600,062 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 62,846,328 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $5,266,522,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389,172 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,165,399 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,230,293,000 after buying an additional 3,344,571 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Boston Scientific by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,626,170 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,729,371,000 after buying an additional 1,041,329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its stake in Boston Scientific by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 27,899,903 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,492,041,000 after buying an additional 6,216,199 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.