Mammoth hedge fund BlackRock Inc. cut more than 4.5 million shares from its stake in medical device company Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX), regulatory filings show.
BlackRock said it owned about 74.0 million shares as of July 31, according to the filings, down from 78.5 million as of Dec. 30, 2011.
The hedge fund now owns about 4.8% of Natick, Mass.-based Boston Scientific, representing a 5.8% cut. The selloff might have been fueled by the medical device company’s swing to 2nd-quarter losses last month.
Boston Scientific posted a massive, $3.43 billion non-cash impairment of goodwill to its bottom line for a $3.40 billion net loss on $1.82 billion in sales during the 3-months ended June 30.
Total Q2 sales were off about 7.4% compared to the same period last year, primarily due to soft sales in the company’s ICD business, which was off 16% from the same period last year. BSX’s CRM business was off 10% from the same period last year. And Boston’s drug-eluting stent business was off 20% worldwide.
The results sent BSX shares below $5 apiece to their lowest ebb in 20 years. The stock was trading at $5.43 as of about noon today on Wall Street.
In other Boston Scientific news this week, the company cut 50 workers from its operation in Galway, Ireland.
