TLDR
- Boston Scientific stock fell roughly 10% after management cut full-year organic growth guidance to 6.5%–8% at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference.
- Q2 organic growth was set at just 5%–7%, well below prior expectations.
- WATCHMAN procedure volumes declined for the first time starting in February, with weakness also in EP and Urology.
- BSX hit a new 52-week low of $50.75 intraday, now down nearly 46% over the past year.
- Most Wall Street analysts still hold Buy or Overweight ratings, with price targets ranging from $60 to $90.
Boston Scientific Corp (BSX) dropped roughly 10% in morning trading on May 27 after CEO Mike Mahoney and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Janar Sathananthan appeared at Bernstein’s 42nd Annual Strategic Decisions Conference and delivered a fresh round of guidance cuts.
Boston Scientific Corporation, BSX
The stock hit an intraday low of $50.75, a new 52-week low, before recovering slightly. At the time of writing, BSX was trading around $52.79, down close to 10% on the day.
The conference appearance, a 50-minute Q&A session starting at approximately 8:00 a.m. ET, was not the place investors expected a guidance reset. Yet that’s exactly what happened.
Management lowered full-year organic growth guidance to 6.5%–8%, and set Q2 organic growth at just 5%–7%. Neither number inspired confidence.
The company cited weakness in three key areas: electrophysiology (EP), WATCHMAN, and Urology. WATCHMAN procedure volumes declined for the first time starting in February — a detail that stung investors who had been watching that segment closely.
Management acknowledged strong demand in concomitant WATCHMAN procedures but flagged a meaningful slowdown in standalone cases. Hospital capacity constraints and changes to reimbursement are being blamed.
What Analysts Are Saying
The guidance cut compounded an already rough stretch for analyst sentiment around BSX.
Daiwa had already downgraded the stock to Neutral from Outperform, cutting its price target to $60 from $83. BofA lowered its target to $68 from $105, while keeping a Buy rating.
Not everyone is running for the exits, though. Truist Securities reiterated a Buy rating with an $85 price target following a separate $1.5 billion equity investment in MiRus. TD Cowen kept its Buy rating with an $80 target. Piper Sandler held its Overweight rating and $90 target.
That’s a wide range of targets — $60 to $90 — which tells you how much uncertainty is baked into the name right now.
What’s Weighing on the Stock
Beyond the guidance cut itself, management pointed to tariff-related margin pressure as an added headwind. Competitive share erosion in EP is also a concern.
BSX had already been under pressure over the prior 30 days as growth concerns mounted in the EP and WATCHMAN segments. Today’s conference remarks just put a number on what the market had been fearing.
The broader market wasn’t much help either. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were essentially flat on the day, and the Dow Jones was only marginally positive. BSX was very much on its own.
On its earnings call last month, CEO Mahoney described the situation as “unanticipated headwinds and changing business patterns.” He used that same framing again at Bernstein.
InvestingPro data currently suggests BSX is undervalued relative to its Fair Value estimate. The stock’s PEG ratio sits at 0.32, which typically signals potential value for growth-oriented investors.
The company also has a $5 billion buyback plan in place, with $3 billion still available — and recently initiated a $2 billion accelerated share repurchase agreement.
BSX’s FRACTURE pivotal trial for the SEISMIQ 4CE Coronary Intravascular Lithotripsy Catheter met its primary safety and effectiveness endpoints, enrolling 420 patients across the U.S. and Europe.
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