Baxter International Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:BAX)

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders bought 6,446 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 73% compared to the average volume of 3,734 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BAX shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Baxter International from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Citigroup raised shares of Baxter International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $17.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.45.

Baxter International Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE BAX traded down $0.08 on Monday, hitting $26.05. The company had a trading volume of 951,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,099,886. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. Baxter International has a 12-month low of $15.73 and a 12-month high of $30.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.58, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50 day moving average of $24.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.54.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.19. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 9.27% and a positive return on equity of 16.57%. The firm had revenue of $2.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Baxter International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.950-2.150 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Baxter International will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be given a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 28th. Baxter International’s payout ratio is presently -1.93%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BAX. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Baxter International by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 8,014 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares in the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC lifted its stake in Baxter International by 52.4% during the second quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 2,153 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 4,452 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 827 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 15,968 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 854 shares during the period. Finally, Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. increased its position in shares of Baxter International by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 46,913 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $897,000 after acquiring an additional 943 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Baxter International Company Profile

Baxter International Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products, pharmaceutical therapies and biotechnology-based solutions. The company’s primary business activities are organized around renal care, medication delivery, acute therapies, pharmacy automation, surgical care and biotechnology. Baxter’s offerings are designed to support patient care in hospitals, dialysis centers, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities worldwide.

In the renal care segment, Baxter provides hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis systems, water treatment equipment and related disposables, including dialyzers, bloodlines and catheters.