Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Boston Scientific in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Boston Scientific from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Argus set a $130.00 price target on shares of Boston Scientific in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Boston Scientific from $107.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Boston Scientific has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $108.91.

Boston Scientific Trading Down 5.4 %

Shares of BSX stock opened at $93.79 on Friday. Boston Scientific has a twelve month low of $65.52 and a twelve month high of $107.17. The company has a market capitalization of $138.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.04, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $100.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.05. Boston Scientific had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 17.80%. Research analysts forecast that Boston Scientific will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Arthur C. Butcher sold 17,313 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.80, for a total transaction of $1,762,463.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $560,103.60. The trade was a 75.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel J. Brennan sold 67,333 shares of Boston Scientific stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.24, for a total value of $7,086,124.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 225,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,764,033.92. This trade represents a 22.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 137,302 shares of company stock valued at $14,319,269 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BSX. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 14,861 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,327,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 8,740 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $781,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 6,331 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $565,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc grew its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 7,474 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $668,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adero Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 3,737 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 120 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.