Varian Medical Systems’ (NYSE:VAR) Neutral Rating Reiterated at Robert W. Baird

Varian Medical Systems, Inc. (NYSE:VAR)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reiterated by stock analysts at Robert W. Baird in a report issued on Friday, July 14th. They presently have a $99.00 price objective on the medical equipment provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $89.00. Robert W. Baird’s target price suggests a potential upside of 2.47% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on VAR. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Varian Medical Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 6th. Off Wall Street started coverage on shares of Varian Medical Systems in a report on Monday, April 24th. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Varian Medical Systems from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 27th. Barrington Research lowered shares of Varian Medical Systems from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 27th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Varian Medical Systems from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.28.

Varian Medical Systems (NYSE:VAR) traded down 0.55% during trading on Friday, reaching $96.61. 920,790 shares of the company’s stock traded hands. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $103.21 and its 200 day moving average is $92.66. The company has a market cap of $8.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.80 and a beta of 0.61. Varian Medical Systems has a 12 month low of $75.20 and a 12 month high of $107.08.

Varian Medical Systems (NYSE:VAR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $662.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $663.86 million. Varian Medical Systems had a net margin of 9.50% and a return on equity of 24.70%. Varian Medical Systems’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Varian Medical Systems will post $3.94 EPS for the current year.

In related news, insider Dow R. Wilson sold 15,060 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.37, for a total value of $1,556,752.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 81,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,459,387.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP John W. Kuo sold 734 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.91, for a total transaction of $74,801.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,863,161.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 144,087 shares of company stock valued at $14,652,328 in the last three months. 0.91% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Knowledge Leaders Capital LLC increased its position in Varian Medical Systems by 0.8% in the second quarter. Knowledge Leaders Capital LLC now owns 56,941 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $5,876,000 after buying an additional 440 shares during the period. BB&T Securities LLC increased its position in Varian Medical Systems by 50.7% in the second quarter. BB&T Securities LLC now owns 7,771 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $801,000 after buying an additional 2,616 shares during the period. Capital Investment Counsel Inc increased its position in Varian Medical Systems by 8.1% in the second quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 6,678 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $689,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its position in Varian Medical Systems by 0.8% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,679,471 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $482,875,000 after buying an additional 38,005 shares during the period. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in Varian Medical Systems by 3.5% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 5,349 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $552,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. 99.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Varian Medical Systems Company Profile

Varian Medical Systems, Inc is a manufacturer of medical devices and software for treating cancer and other medical conditions with radiotherapy, radiosurgery, proton therapy and brachytherapy medical devices and software for treating cancer and other medical conditions with radiotherapy, radiosurgery, proton therapy and brachytherapy.