Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $91.99, but opened at $96.68. Boston Scientific shares last traded at $96.52, with a volume of 2,529,217 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BSX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Boston Scientific from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Boston Scientific from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Boston Scientific from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Boston Scientific presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.96.

Boston Scientific Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.80. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $89.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.59.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical equipment provider reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.04. Boston Scientific had a return on equity of 17.23% and a net margin of 11.26%. The company had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Boston Scientific Co. will post 2.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John Bradley Sorenson sold 4,119 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.02, for a total transaction of $370,792.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,179,416.38. This represents a 10.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Arthur C. Butcher sold 14,010 shares of Boston Scientific stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.27, for a total transaction of $1,250,672.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 978 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,306.06. This trade represents a 93.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,989 shares of company stock worth $2,702,261 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Boston Scientific by 9.8% in the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 35,059 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $2,700,000 after purchasing an additional 3,143 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in Boston Scientific by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 14,174 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,092,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. First Foundation Advisors lifted its position in Boston Scientific by 51.2% in the second quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 549 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC boosted its stake in Boston Scientific by 6.8% in the second quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 34,685 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $2,671,000 after acquiring an additional 2,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Boston Scientific during the second quarter worth about $251,000. 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.