Baxter International Inc. (BAX) discussed its long-term financial objectives, growth opportunities and various research and development (R&D) programs at its recently concluded Investor Conference in Chicago.

The long-term (5-year) financial objectives are as follows:

Increase sales roughly 7% to 8% per annum, excluding foreign exchange translation effect Grow earnings per share in the range of 11% to 13% per annum Generate annual cash flow of approximately $4 billion by 2014 Baxter also plans to expand its strong existing product portfolio by enhancing R&D investments at a compound annual rate of a minimum 8% to 10% from 7% at the end of fiscal 2008. The company will continue to hunt for business development opportunities through its disciplined acquisition strategy.    

We are confident that Baxter will be able to deliver on its commitments. The company has achieved record sales, earnings and strong cash flows

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 26, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Sanofi-Aventis (SNY), AstraZeneca (AZN), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Baxter (BAX) and Novartis (NVS).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:

H1N1 Vaccine to Miss Target

Although we are waiting eagerly for the first H1N1 vaccine to hit the market, it seems production of the vaccine will be much less than the original estimates. According to a warning from the World Health Organization (WHO), supply will be much less than anticipated earlier, especially with the

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Although we are waiting eagerly for the first H1N1 vaccine to hit the market, it seems production of the vaccine will be much less than the original estimates. According to a warning from the World Health Organization (WHO), supply will be much less than anticipated earlier, especially with the winter season approaching in the northern hemisphere. Per initial estimates from October onwards, about 94 million doses of vaccine could have been manufactured by the pharmaceutical companies, but this target has already been slashed by 50-75% due to poorer than expected yield from the virus strains.

Almost 25 pharmaceutical companies are racing against time to bring the vaccine to the market. Among these the top five which include, Sanofi-Pasteur of France (the vaccine arm of Sanofi-Aventis, SNY), AstraZeneca (AZN), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Baxter (BAX), and Novartis (NVS) are likely to contribute almost 80% of the total production.

Baxter and

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 11, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Sanofi-Aventis (SNY), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Novartis (NVS), Merck (MRK) and Wyeth (WYE).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:

H1N1 Vaccine from Sanofi?

All countries are waiting eagerly for the H1N1 vaccine since the outbreak of the swine-flu pandemic, which has killed hundreds if not thousands of people worldwide. As the swine influenza A (H1N1) virus is comparatively new, no vaccine is available at present to prevent the infection. In this respect, French

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We believe that Baxter International's (BAX) focus on life-sustaining products insulates its results from the current economic downturn and provide investors with good quality returns on a risk-adjusted basis.

The company has a strong product pipeline, with a number of promising products in the final stages of clinical trials. Baxter's strong market position is demonstrated in its recent quarterly performance that came ahead of guidance, while earnings exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

We believe that investors will benefit by adding this stock to their portfolio.Zacks Investment Research

Baxter International Inc. (BAX) recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share of Baxter common stock. The dividend is payable on Oct 1, 2009 to shareholders of record on Sept 10, 2009. This is in continuation of the company’s current dividend payout of approximately 27%. Furthermore, the Board of Directors authorized the company to repurchase an additional $2 billion of common stock upon completion of the remaining $300 million authorization.       The company declared dividend on the back of its strong second quarter results. We think that the dividend payout is safe considering the company’s strong cash balance of $1.8 billion at the end of the second quarter. Investors also benefit by getting a recurring stream of income in the form of dividend.   The company has a tradition of share repurchases that adds to its ever-increasing EPS. During the first six months of 2009, the company

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Since the beginning of the global economic crisis, medical device stocks have fared slightly worse than the overall market, losing roughly 400 bps more than the S&P500 (-31%) since September 1, 2008, on a market weighted basis. We continue to recommend that investors focus on companies providing life-sustaining products. We believe these products will remain insulated from the longer-term effects of the current economic crisis because target patients will be unable to forego procedures. The initial slide in the market left many strong companies looking very attractive. In the coming year, investors should allocate funds to companies with high earnings quality profiles. We recommend companies with the following characteristics: Size – (1) Larger companies will find it easier to survive any future liquidity issues and acquire new technologies at cents on the dollar.  
(2) Size also refers to the average ticket price per product the company sells. As hospitals cut their capital ...

Baxter International Inc. (BAX) recently announced its intention of acquiring the Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (CRRT) business from Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (EW). The deal involves an initial cash payment of roughly $56 million and an additional payment of up to $9 million over the next two years based on achievement of certain milestones revenue. The acquisition is expected to close in Q309 and will have no impact on Baxter's financial results for fiscal 2009.

CRRT, also known as hemofiltration, is a process of continuous and adjustable removal of excess fluid and waste products resulting from malfunction of the kidney. CRRT duplicates the function of a kidney for 24 hours. Baxter is presently supplying solutions that are used in CRRT treatment globally and is the lone distributor of Edwards' product in the U.S., Latin America and China.

Baxter is a global medical products and services company with

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - June 11, 2009 - Zacks.com releases the latest Industry Outlook. Today's interview is with senior analyst Christopher Titus, who talks about the Medical Devices Industry, including St. Jude Medical (STJ), Baxter (BAX) Becton Dickinson (BDX), Boston Scientific (BSX) and Haemonetics (HAE).

A synopsis of today's Industry Outlook is presented below. The full article can be read at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2678.

The medical products industry is very diverse, and some boats sit much higher in low tide than others. Even during recent economic turbulence, many of these names will continue performing well on a financial basis.

Areas within our coverage that should perform well include cardiovascular devices and surgical equipment, blood related products, and associated consumables. The names currently on our BUY list that we believe provide safe vehicles over the coming

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If you have not read the first and second parts of this article, please follow the prior links.  By now, you should be getting a quick  glimpse of the trends that are influencing health care companies operations and decisions.  In my first article I discussed how the government’s and FDA’s agendas are affecting the health care industry, and in my second article,  I examined recent M&A activity, generic competition, and trends within the CRO industry. In this article, I will touch over the things that are plaguing Managed Care Organizations (MCO) and Medical Supplies companies and forces that are inspiring growth in Health Care IT.

Decline in Hospital Admissions

The decreasing number of people admitted into hospitals is hindering the managed care industry.  Although the healthcare industry has been typically perceived as recession-proof, due to the increase in unemployment and the decline in the amount of disposable income

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