Citigroup Raises Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) Price Target to $85.00

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) had its price objective increased by Citigroup from $79.00 to $85.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the medical equipment provider’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on BSX. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Boston Scientific from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Boston Scientific from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $75.09.

Boston Scientific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BSX opened at $73.17 on Thursday. Boston Scientific has a twelve month low of $48.35 and a twelve month high of $74.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $67.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.56. The company has a market capitalization of $107.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.49, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.78.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The medical equipment provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.59 billion. Boston Scientific had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 12.06%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Boston Scientific will post 2.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Boston Scientific

In other Boston Scientific news, EVP John Bradley Sorenson sold 16,351 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.30, for a total transaction of $1,133,124.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 50,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,509,213.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP John Bradley Sorenson sold 16,351 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.30, for a total value of $1,133,124.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,509,213.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Wendy Carruthers sold 6,983 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value of $463,322.05. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,568,833.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 50,979 shares of company stock worth $3,418,529. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Boston Scientific

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BSX. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Boston Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $930,626,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Boston Scientific by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 125,920,357 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $6,648,595,000 after buying an additional 8,045,263 shares in the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC boosted its position in Boston Scientific by 110.5% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 13,067,570 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $755,436,000 after buying an additional 6,859,280 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Boston Scientific by 236.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,419,829 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $544,560,000 after acquiring an additional 6,617,360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Boston Scientific by 391.6% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,271,810 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $172,752,000 after purchasing an additional 2,606,253 shares during the period. 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.