Barclays Initiates Coverage of Baxter International at Underweight
Fintel reports that on October 7, 2026, Barclays initiated coverage of Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) (WBAG:BAX) with a Underweight recommendation.
This initiation follows a prior action by Barclays on May 4, 2026, where the firm maintained its Overweight rating on the stock. In other recent analyst activity, Citigroup maintained its Neutral rating on October 5, 2026. Baxter International Inc. is a global healthcare company based in the United States, primarily engaged in the development, manufacture, and marketing of products that save and sustain the lives of people with chronic and acute medical conditions. Operating in the medical devices and pharmaceuticals sectors, Baxter is known for its innovative treatments in renal care, general and advanced surgery, and acute therapies.
Prior to the rating action, the stock closed at $24.36 on October 6, 2026. This latest close represents a price change of +3.75% over one week, relative to a baseline close of $23.48 on September 29, 2026. Over a one-month period, the stock experienced a price change of -5.69% from a baseline close of $25.83 on September 4, 2026. As of October 2, 2026, the current consensus target mean for the stock was $27.86, with a median target of $28.56. This mean target represents an implied change of +14.39% from the stock's prior levels. The prior consensus target mean was also $27.86 as of September 15, 2026, showing a consensus target revision of 0.00%.
The broader analyst sentiment for the current recommendation period of September 1, 2026, shows a total of 20 recommendations, consisting of 1 strong buy, 4 buy, 14 hold, 1 sell, and 0 strong sell ratings. This distribution reflects 25.0% positive, 70.0% hold, and 5.0% negative recommendations, which remains unchanged from the prior recommendation period of August 1, 2026. In its latest earnings report on July 30, 2026, Baxter reported actual EPS of 0.56 against an estimate of 0.3696, representing an EPS surprise of +51.52%. Actual revenue was $2,960,000,000.00 compared to an estimate of $2,823,442,142.00. The company's upcoming earnings date is scheduled for October 29, 2026.
Recent analyst actions
| Date | Analyst | Prior | Latest recommendation | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 7, 2026 | Barclays | Underweight | initiated coverage | |
| October 5, 2026 | Citigroup | Neutral | Neutral | maintained |
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This story originally appeared on Fintel.