Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Downgraded to “Strong Sell” Rating by Zacks Research

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Baxter International’s Q3 2026 earnings at $0.59 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $2.17 EPS and Q4 2027 earnings at $0.62 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Baxter International from $25.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $25.00 to $19.00 in a report on Friday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Baxter International from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Baxter International from $24.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $21.40.

Baxter International Price Performance

NYSE BAX opened at $19.71 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $19.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.19. Baxter International has a 52 week low of $17.40 and a 52 week high of $37.74. The stock has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.09. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 17.38% and a negative net margin of 3.09%.The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.80 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Baxter International has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.520-0.570 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 2.350-2.400 EPS. Analysts forecast that Baxter International will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baxter International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BAX. Cullen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Baxter International by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,651,542 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $50,009,000 after purchasing an additional 155,415 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 20.6% in the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 574,700 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $17,402,000 after buying an additional 98,000 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox increased its position in shares of Baxter International by 1.3% in the second quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 52,121,620 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,578,243,000 after acquiring an additional 662,695 shares in the last quarter. Parkwood LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Baxter International during the second quarter valued at approximately $9,459,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Baxter International by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,900,828 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $57,568,000 after acquiring an additional 224,804 shares in the last quarter. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Baxter International

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.