Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-three brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $97.26.

BSX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $98.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Boston Scientific from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com downgraded Boston Scientific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Boston Scientific from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th.

Boston Scientific Stock Performance

NYSE:BSX opened at $95.14 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.80. Boston Scientific has a 1 year low of $59.39 and a 1 year high of $97.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $89.96 and a 200-day moving average of $83.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical equipment provider reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Boston Scientific will post 2.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Arthur C. Butcher sold 14,010 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.27, for a total transaction of $1,250,672.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,306.06. This represents a 93.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Edward J. Ludwig sold 4,877 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.63, for a total transaction of $446,879.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,610,038.74. The trade was a 11.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,989 shares of company stock worth $2,702,261 over the last ninety days. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Boston Scientific

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wedbush Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Boston Scientific in the second quarter valued at approximately $251,000. BOKF NA grew its position in Boston Scientific by 14.0% in the second quarter. BOKF NA now owns 3,065 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Boston Scientific in the 2nd quarter valued at $220,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in Boston Scientific by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 75,833 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $5,840,000 after buying an additional 5,442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 15.3% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 11,790 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $908,000 after buying an additional 1,562 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.