Boston Scientific’s (BSX) “Hold” Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reissued their hold rating on shares of Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on BSX. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Boston Scientific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Boston Scientific from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Boston Scientific from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on Boston Scientific from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.39.

Boston Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BSX opened at $90.76 on Wednesday. Boston Scientific has a 1 year low of $53.93 and a 1 year high of $91.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.51.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical equipment provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.04. Boston Scientific had a return on equity of 17.23% and a net margin of 11.26%. The company had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Boston Scientific will post 2.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Joseph Michael Fitzgerald sold 132,527 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total value of $11,264,795.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 160,467 shares in the company, valued at $13,639,695. This represents a 45.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Wendy Carruthers sold 6,983 shares of Boston Scientific stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.70, for a total value of $570,511.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 37,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,061,135.60. This trade represents a 15.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 328,157 shares of company stock worth $27,894,270. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BSX. State Street Corp raised its position in Boston Scientific by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 62,846,328 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,266,522,000 after buying an additional 1,389,172 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 2.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 32,820,828 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,750,385,000 after purchasing an additional 718,515 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,584,841 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,469,607,000 after purchasing an additional 480,729 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Boston Scientific by 2.7% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 13,922,773 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,072,195,000 after purchasing an additional 360,793 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Boston Scientific by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,018,377 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $671,940,000 after purchasing an additional 64,720 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.07% of the company’s stock.

About Boston Scientific

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.