Next Century Growth Investors LLC Cuts Holdings in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX)

Next Century Growth Investors LLC decreased its stake in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX - Free Report) by 52.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,422 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 22,800 shares during the period. Next Century Growth Investors LLC's holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $1,824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 132,890,784 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $11,869,805,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600,062 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,165,399 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $3,230,293,000 after purchasing an additional 3,344,571 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,626,170 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $2,729,371,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041,329 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Boston Scientific in the 4th quarter worth $1,762,522,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Boston Scientific by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,539,488 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,477,307,000 after purchasing an additional 832,386 shares during the last quarter. 89.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Boston Scientific

In other Boston Scientific news, EVP John Bradley Sorenson sold 6,528 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.97, for a total transaction of $685,244.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,449 shares in the company, valued at $2,776,351.53. The trade was a 19.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Arthur C. Butcher sold 17,313 shares of Boston Scientific stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.80, for a total value of $1,762,463.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $560,103.60. This trade represents a 75.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 133,183 shares of company stock worth $13,948,476 over the last 90 days. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Boston Scientific from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Boston Scientific from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $105.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Boston Scientific from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.22.

Boston Scientific Stock Performance

NYSE BSX traded up $0.33 on Thursday, hitting $95.58. 3,805,649 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,359,037. The company has a market capitalization of $141.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.73. Boston Scientific Co. has a 52-week low of $66.80 and a 52-week high of $107.17. The business's 50 day moving average price is $99.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.05. Boston Scientific had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 17.80%. Equities analysts expect that Boston Scientific Co. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Boston Scientific Company Profile

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.