Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,200,000 shares, an increase of 10.7% from the August 31st total of 11,020,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,530,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Boston Scientific Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of BSX traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $84.14. 4,354,164 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,002,487. Boston Scientific has a fifty-two week low of $48.35 and a fifty-two week high of $84.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business has a 50-day moving average of $79.55 and a 200-day moving average of $75.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.79.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.02 billion. Boston Scientific had a net margin of 12.00% and a return on equity of 16.59%. Boston Scientific’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Boston Scientific will post 2.4 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BSX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Boston Scientific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $77.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.10.

Insider Activity at Boston Scientific

In related news, EVP Wendy Carruthers sold 6,983 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.12, for a total value of $517,579.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,978,734.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Boston Scientific

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 1.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 127,437,884 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,728,221,000 after buying an additional 1,988,082 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 69.9% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 16,008,085 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,096,394,000 after buying an additional 6,588,256 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 2.7% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 13,922,773 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,072,195,000 after buying an additional 360,793 shares during the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 110.5% during the fourth 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. Finally, Vontobel Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,974,569 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $668,472,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015,140 shares in the last quarter. 89.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.