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

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors purchased 22,421 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 217% compared to the average daily volume of 7,067 put options.

Baxter International Stock Performance

NYSE:BAX traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $18.80. 971,728 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,071,931. Baxter International has a 1-year low of $17.40 and a 1-year high of $37.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50-day moving average of $19.57 and a 200 day moving average of $23.82.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.09. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 3.09% and a positive return on equity of 17.38%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue 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. Research analysts anticipate that Baxter International will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Baxter International Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 28th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -6.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Baxter International from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Baxter International in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Baxter International from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Baxter International in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Baxter International from $31.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.00.

Institutional Trading of Baxter International

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Baxter International during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Baxter International during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of Baxter International by 169.6% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 984 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Baxter International in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in Baxter International in the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

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.