Baxter downgraded to Hold from Buy at TD Cowen

TD Cowen downgraded Baxter to Hold from Buy with an unchanged price target of $40. The post-earnings stock reaction reveals how impatient many investors have become waiting for the remaining company to achieve 4%-5% revenue growth or even the 5%-plus growth initially thought possible with the Hillrom acquisition, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm does not believe this dynamic will get better in the coming quarters. While Baxter is committed to a second-half Kidney Care separation, the company is likely to target 4% growth after the spinoff or sale is consummated, the rate it said it would exit this year with on Thursday’s Q1 call, notes Cowen. It it not convinced that investors will receive 4% growth much differently than 3%-4% growth.