Key Factors to Evaluate Before Investing in Baxter International (BAX)

By Ken Smith • Monday, September 30 15:10 • Permanent Link

One of the losers of today's trading session was Baxter International. Shares of the Medical instruments & supplies company plunged -2.7%, and some investors may be wondering if its price of $37.85 would make a good entry point. Here's what you should know if you are considering this investment:

Baxter International has moved 4.2% over the last year, and the S&P 500 logged a change of 33.8%
BAX has an average analyst rating of hold and is -6.88% away from its mean target price of $40.65 per share
Its trailing earnings per share (EPS) is $-0.3
Baxter International has a trailing 12 month Price to Earnings (P/E) ratio of -126.2 while the S&P 500 average is 29.3
Its forward earnings per share (EPS) is $3.2 and its forward P/E ratio is 11.8
The company has a Price to Book (P/B) ratio of 2.53 in contrast to the S&P 500's average ratio of 4.74
Baxter International is part of the Health Care sector, which has an average P/E ratio of 26.07 and an average P/B of 3.53
The company has a free cash flow of $1.52 Billion, which refers to the total sum of all its inflows and outflows of cash over the last quarter
Baxter International Inc., through its subsidiaries, develops and provides a portfolio of healthcare products worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Medical Products and Therapies, Healthcare Systems and Technologies, Pharmaceuticals, and Kidney Care. The company offers sterile intravenous (IV) solutions; infusion systems and devices; parenteral nutrition therapies; generic injectable pharmaceuticals; surgical hemostat and sealant products, advanced surgical equipment; smart bed systems; patient monitoring and diagnostic technologies; and respiratory health devices, as well as advanced equipment for the surgical space, including surgical video technologies, precision positioning devices, and other accessories. It also provides administrative sets; adhesion prevention products; inhaled anesthesia; drug compounding; chronic and acute dialysis therapies and services, including peritoneal dialysis (PD), hemodialysis (HD), continuous renal replacement therapies (CRRT), and other organ support therapies. The company's products are used in hospitals, kidney dialysis centers, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, ambulatory surgery centers, doctors' offices, and patients at home under physician supervision. The company sells its products through direct sales force, as well as through independent distributors, drug wholesalers, and specialty pharmacy or other alternate site providers in approximately 100 countries. It has an agreement with Celerity Pharmaceutical, LLC to develop acute care generic injectable premix and oncolytic products; and a collaborative research agreement with Miromatrix Medical Inc. aiming to advance care for patients with acute liver failure. Baxter International Inc. was incorporated in 1931 and is headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois.

The above analysis is intended for educational purposes only and was performed on the basis of publicly available data. It is not to be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Any buy, sell, or other recommendations mentioned in the article are direct quotations of consensus recommendations from the analysts covering the stock, and do not represent the opinions of Market Inference or its writers. Past performance, accounting data, and inferences about market position and corporate valuation are not reliable indicators of future price movements. Market Inference does not provide financial advice. Investors should conduct their own review and analysis of any company of interest before making an investment decision.