Next Century Growth Investors LLC Has $1.82 Million Stock Position in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX)

Next Century Growth Investors LLC cut its position in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX) by 52.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,422 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 22,800 shares during the quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC’s holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $1,824,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mechanics Bank Trust Department acquired a new stake in Boston Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at about $415,000. Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Boston Scientific during the 4th quarter worth about $4,887,000. Covenant Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Boston Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,405,000. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 105,860 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $9,455,000 after purchasing an additional 20,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 31.7% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 19,527 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,744,000 after buying an additional 4,702 shares during the period. 89.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BSX. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $111.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Boston Scientific from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered Boston Scientific from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Boston Scientific from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Boston Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Boston Scientific has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.04.

Boston Scientific Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE BSX opened at $93.66 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $138.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.93, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.73. Boston Scientific Co. has a 1-year low of $66.80 and a 1-year high of $107.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a 50 day moving average of $100.54 and a 200-day moving average of $94.02.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.70 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Boston Scientific Co. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Boston Scientific

In other news, CFO Daniel J. Brennan sold 15,087 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.07, for a total value of $1,585,191.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 241,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,369,256.57. This represents a 5.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeffrey B. Mirviss sold 4,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.25, for a total transaction of $487,368.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,454 shares in the company, valued at $2,966,329.50. This represents a 14.11 % 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 over the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.