Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $79.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Boston Scientific in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Boston Scientific from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. BTIG Research raised their target price on Boston Scientific from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.38.

Boston Scientific Stock Up 1.0 %

BSX opened at $81.95 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Boston Scientific has a twelve month low of $48.35 and a twelve month high of $82.47. The company has a market cap of $120.23 billion, a PE ratio of 68.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $77.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.31.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.04. Boston Scientific had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 12.00%. The firm had revenue of $4.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Boston Scientific will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Boston Scientific

In other news, EVP Wendy Carruthers sold 6,983 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.12, for a total transaction of $517,579.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 40,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,978,734.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 20,949 shares of company stock worth $1,627,877 in the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Boston Scientific

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BSX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Boston Scientific by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 127,437,884 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $8,728,221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,988,082 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 37,905,659 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,191,326,000 after buying an additional 550,490 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Boston Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $930,626,000. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Boston Scientific by 69.9% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 16,008,085 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,096,394,000 after acquiring an additional 6,588,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Boston Scientific by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 13,922,773 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,072,195,000 after acquiring an additional 360,793 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.