Baxter International Inc. (BAX) Stock Analysis

Q: What is the BAX stock price target?

Take-profit $19.24 (+13.6% upside). Prior stop was $15.75.

Q: Is BAX overvalued or undervalued?

Baxter International Inc. trades at a P/E of N/A (forward 8.3). TrendMatrix value score: 8.0/10. Overall verdict: Sell.

Q: What do analysts say about BAX?

22 analysts cover BAX with a consensus score of 3.2/5. Average price target: $22.

SellVALUE-TRAP 3/5Moderate ConfidenceUpdated 2026-04-30

Healthcare · Medical Instruments & Supplies

Earnings in 0 days (2026-04-30). Expect elevated volatility around the report — consider waiting for post-earnings price action before new entries.

$17.16+13.6% A.UpsideScore 4.8/10#21 of 25 Medical Instruments & Supplies

Stop $15.75Target $19.24(analyst − 13%)A.R:R 1.5:1

Analyst target$22.12+28.9%13 analysts

$19.24our TP

$17.16price

$22.12mean

$40

Sell if holding. Engine safety override at $17.16: Quality below floor (3.7 < 4.0) triggers a hard block regardless of the otherwise-positive setup — overall score 4.8/10 and A.R:R 1.5:1 is above the 1.5:1 BUY gate. Specifically: High short interest: 11%; Elevated put/call ratio: 1.72; Below-average business quality. Chart setup: No recognized chart pattern (not a breakout, bounce, continuation, recovery, falling knife, or range) — technicals mixed. Score 4.8/10, moderate confidence.

Passes 4/7 gates (favorable risk/reward ratio, clean insider activity, no SEC red flags, semi cycle peak clear). Fails on weak momentum and death cross (50MA < 200MA) and earnings proximity 0d<=7d. Suitability: moderate.

Thesis

Rewards

No bull case signals

Risks

Quality below floor (3.7 < 4.0)

Value-trap signals (3/5): Margin compression (op margin -83.3%), Material insider selling (44 sells, 0.20% of cap), Negative free cash flow

Key Metrics

P/E (TTM)—

P/E (Fwd)8.3

Mkt Cap$8.7B

EV/EBITDA8.2

Profit Mgn-8.5%

ROE-13.7%

Rev Growth8.0%

Beta0.62

Dividend2.13%

Rating analysts22

Quality Signals

Piotroski F8/9

Options Flow

P/C1.72bearish

IV85%elevated

Max Pain$9-47.6% vs spot

Concentration Risks(10-K Item 1A)

MEDIUMCustomerGPOs, IDNs, and certain other distributors and purchasers
10-K Item 1A: 'Segments of our business are significantly dependent on major contracts with GPOs, IDNs, and certain other distributors and purchasers'

Material Events(8-K, last 90d)

2026-03-16Item 5.02MEDIUM
Joel Grade ceased as Baxter International CFO effective March 16, 2026, transitioning to non-executive advisory role through April 30, 2026. Anita Zielinski appointed as Interim CFO. No disagreement with management or Board cited.
SEC filing →
2026-02-12Item 5.02LOW
Michael R. McDonnell appointed to Baxter International Board of Directors effective February 13, 2026. Routine board appointment; no officer departure cited.
SEC filing →

Model-generated analysis — not investment advice. Not a registered investment advisor. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Full disclaimer

Rating Breakdown

3 floor-breakers

Overall = weighted sum of the 10 dimension scores. Fundamentals (Value/Quality/Growth) carry 45%; market signals (Momentum/Sentiment/Insider/Peer) carry 40%; structure (Technical/Risk/Catalyst) carries 15%.

DimensionScoreWeightContribution

Value8.015%1.20

Quality3.715%0.56

Growth4.515%0.67

Momentum2.110%0.21

Sentiment6.210%0.62

Insider Activity5.010%0.50

Peer Rank3.310%0.33

Technical Setup4.85%0.24

Risk Profile3.75%0.19

Catalyst6.05%0.30

Overall (Σ contributions)4.81

Small float-rounding may cause last-digit differences between this sum and the displayed Overall.

Price action weak — below key moving averages, no momentum carry. Needs a base before trend-continuation setups apply.static

Obv

1.0

Ma Position

1.0

Volume

1.3

Macd

2.7

Rsi

4.5

Volume distribution (falling OBV)Below 200-MA, MA slope -8.4%/30d — confirmed downtrend

Ranks in the bottom of its industry peers on the composite signal. Better names in the same sector exist.static

Quality Rank

1.0

Growth Rank

3.2

Value Rank

9.2

Unprofitable operations — net margin -8.5%. Quality floor flags this regardless of sector context.static

Roe

0.0

Net Margin

0.0

Roa

1.9

Operating Margin

2.9

Gross Margin

3.1

Moat

5.0

Current Ratio

7.9

Piotroski F

8.9

No competitive moatStrong Piotroski F-Score: 8/9

GatesMomentum 2.1<4.5Death cross (50MA < 200MA)EARNINGS PROXIMITY 0d<=7dA.R:R 1.5 ≥ 1.5Insider activity: OKNo SEC red flagsSEMI CYCLE PEAK CLEARSuitability: Moderate

RSI

48 · Neutral

↓ 20D MA↓ 50D MA↓ 200D MADEATH CROSSSupport $16.17Resistance $19.19

Price Targets

$16

$19

A.Upside+12.1%

A.R:R1.5:1

Position Sizing

ConvictionNone

Suggested %0.5%

Max %1%

RegimeSteady

Risk Alerts

! Quality below floor (3.7 < 4.0)

! Value-trap signals (3/5): Margin compression (op margin -83.3%), Material insider selling (44 sells, 0.20% of cap), Negative free cash flow

! Momentum score 2.1/10 — below 4.5 minimum

Earnings

2/4 beats

Next Earnings2026-04-30 (0d)

Verdict History

reverse chrono — latest first

Loading history...

Verdicts are recorded on every nightly pipeline run. Rows capture transitions (verdict flips, score deltas ≥0.3, entry/TP/SL changes). Rows with a ▶ can be expanded to see the change reason. Aggregate cohort performance is tracked in the recommendation ledger.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is BAX stock a buy right now?

Sell if holding. Engine safety override at $17.16: Quality below floor (3.7 < 4.0) triggers a hard block regardless of the otherwise-positive setup — overall score 4.8/10 and A.R:R 1.5:1 is above the 1.5:1 BUY gate. Specifically: High short interest: 11%; Elevated put/call ratio: 1.72; Below-average business quality. Chart setup: No recognized chart pattern (not a breakout, bounce, continuation, recovery, falling knife, or range) — technicals mixed. Prior stop was $15.75. Score 4.8/10, moderate confidence.

What is the BAX stock price target?

Take-profit target: $19.24 (+13.6% upside). Prior stop was $15.75. Stop-loss: $15.75.

What are the risks of investing in BAX?

Quality below floor (3.7 < 4.0); Value-trap signals (3/5): Margin compression (op margin -83.3%), Material insider selling (44 sells, 0.20% of cap), Negative free cash flow.

Is BAX overvalued or undervalued?

Baxter International Inc. trades at a P/E of N/A (forward 8.3). TrendMatrix value score: 8.0/10. Verdict: Sell.

What do analysts say about BAX?

22 analysts cover BAX with a consensus score of 3.2/5. Average price target: $22.

What does Baxter International Inc. do?Baxter International provides essential hospital medical products across Medical Products and Therapies, Healthcare...

Baxter International provides essential hospital medical products across Medical Products and Therapies, Healthcare Systems and Technologies, and Pharmaceuticals segments in 100+ countries. The company sold its Kidney Care business to Carlyle for approximately $3.71B in January 2025 and carried approximately $9.48B of indebtedness at December 31, 2025. Customers include hospitals, surgery centers, and nursing homes globally.