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Becton, Dickinson, and Company (BDX), headquartered in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, is a medical technology company that develops, manufactures, and sells medical devices, medical supplies, laboratory equipment, and diagnostic products. Valued at $67.55 billion by market cap, the company offers solutions that enable medical research and genomics, enhance the diagnosis of infectious disease and cancer, improve medication management, promote infection prevention, equip surgical and interventional procedures, and support diabetes management.
Companies worth $10 billion or more are generally described as “large-cap stocks,” and BDX perfectly fits that description, signifying its substantial size, stability, and dominance in its industry. The company works closely with customers and partners to help enhance outcomes, lower healthcare delivery costs, improve efficiencies, improve healthcare safety, and expand access to health.
The global medical technology company has fallen 18.7% from its 52-week high of $287.32, which it hit on Jul. 24, 2023. Shares of BDX are down 1.1% over the past three months, underperforming the broader S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 5.4% gains over the same time frame.
Longer term, BDX has declined 8.3% over the past year and 3.5% in 2024. By contrast, the SPX is up 15.4% on a YTD basis and 25.4% over the past 52 weeks.
To confirm the recent bearish price trend, BDX has been trading below its 50-day moving average since early June and 200-day moving average since early November 2023.
On May 2, BDX rose more than 3% after reporting Q2 adjusted EPS of $3.17, higher than the consensus estimates of $2.97. It raised its full-year adjusted EPS between $12.95 and $13.15, up from the previous forecast of $12.82 and $13.06. The company expects revenue between $20.10 billion and $20.30 billion. Since its Q2 results were reported, the stock has been on a downtrend.
Rival Baxter International Inc. (BAX) has underperformed BDX. BAX stock has declined 24.7% in the past 52 weeks and 12.5% on a YTD basis.
Despite its recent underperformance compared to SPX, analysts are optimistic about BDX’s prospects. The stock has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” from the 16 analysts covering it, and the mean price target of $276.86 is a premium of 18.5% to current levels.
On the date of publication, Dipanjan Banchur did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
