Piper Jaffray Assumes, Downgrades Baxter International (BAX) to Neutral

Piper Jaffray downgraded Baxter International (NYSE: BAX) from Overweight to Neutral with a price target of $39.00 (from $90.00) in assumed coverage.

Analyst Brooks West comments, "We are assuming coverage of Baxter (BAX) with a Neutral rating and $39 PT. While we believe post-spin Baxter is showing good progress in the early innings, we believe the story has a number of moving pieces that need to be addressed in order for us to be more constructive on BAX shares. We like the appointment of Joe Almeida as CEO and believe his experience with post-spin businesses (Covidien) and corporate portfolio management suits the situation at Baxter. We also believe Joe has solid support in CFO Jay Saccaro. We believe the current financial profile is well understood by investors and that present valuation (at 22.2x 2017E EPS) reflects the current trajectory towards the company’s long-range plan, including pull forward of projected operating leverage. We’ll look for more details from incoming CEO Almeida as keys for potential upside from either underlying performance or portfolio management. "

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Baxter International click here. For more ratings news on Baxter International click here.

Shares of Baxter International closed at $37.57 yesterday.

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