Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Boston Scientific Call Options (NYSE:BSX)

Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 16,833 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 78% compared to the typical daily volume of 9,470 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BSX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Boston Scientific from $105.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Boston Scientific from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Argus set a $130.00 price target on shares of Boston Scientific in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Boston Scientific in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.04.

Boston Scientific Stock Up 1.1 %

BSX stock traded up $1.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $93.66. 8,303,541 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,351,456. The stock has a market cap of $138.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.73. Boston Scientific has a fifty-two week low of $66.80 and a fifty-two week high of $107.17. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $100.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.05. Boston Scientific had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 11.07%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Boston Scientific will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Boston Scientific news, EVP John Bradley Sorenson sold 6,528 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.97, for a total value of $685,244.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,449 shares in the company, valued at $2,776,351.53. This represents a 19.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel J. Brennan sold 15,087 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.07, for a total value of $1,585,191.09. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 241,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,369,256.57. This represents a 5.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 133,183 shares of company stock valued at $13,948,476 in the last 90 days. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Boston Scientific

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BSX. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Boston Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,762,522,000. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 27,899,903 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $2,492,041,000 after purchasing an additional 6,216,199 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,165,399 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $3,230,293,000 after purchasing an additional 3,344,571 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 11,720.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,577,887 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $260,057,000 after buying an additional 2,556,078 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE grew its position in Boston Scientific by 208.2% during the fourth quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 3,752,430 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $335,167,000 after buying an additional 2,535,007 shares during the period. 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.