Count mutual fund giant Vanguard Group and hedge fund BlackRock Inc. among the believers in the comeback story at Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX).
Vanguard took up a 6.7% stake in Boston Scientific as of the end of last year, according to regulatory filings, after a year that saw BSX shares rise more than 105%, to $12.02 apiece, from their $5.86 opening Jan. 2, 2013.
And BlackRock in 2013 boosted its share in the medical device company by 4.6%, to 6.4%, according to the filings.
BlackRock’s share in Boston Scientific has spiked some 20.8% since the end of 2011, when the hedge fund reported a 5.3% holding. By the end of 2012, BlackRock had slashed some 9.3% off its piece of the company, reporting a 4.8% stake. That rose 27.2% during the next year, to 6.1% at the close of 2012.
Another mutual fund powerhouse, Fidelity, also bought into the recovery by Natick, Mass.-based Boston Scientific, acquiring a 10.5% share in July 2013.
Boston Scientific doubled its earnings per share during the 4th quarter on an 80% profit surge eked out despite flat sales growth that still topped analysts’ expectations, posting profits of $108 million, or 8¢ per share, on sales of $1.84 billion for the 3 months ended Dec. 31, 2013.
That’s top-line growth of 0.9% compared with Q4 2012. Adjusted to exclude 1-time items, earnings were 21¢ per share; the consensus outlook on The Street called for adjusted EPS of 12¢ on sales of $1.83 billion.
For the full year, Boston Scientific slashed losses by nearly 100%, but sales were off by 1.5%. Losses for 2013 were -$121 million, or -9¢ per share, on sales of $7.14 billion; losses in 2012 were -$4.07 billion, or -29¢ per share, on sales of $7.25 billion.
BSX shares closed at $12.96 apiece today, up 0.9%.
