Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) stock is trading lower in Friday’s session, with shares at $95.76 as of 17:30 UTC on December 19, 2025 (down 0.36% on the day). The stock’s intraday range has run from $95.64 to $97.24, after opening at $96.85 on volume of roughly 4.49 million shares at the time of this update.
The move comes one day after BSX closed at $96.11 on Thursday, December 18, extending a three-session winning streak and drawing heavier-than-usual trading activity. MarketWatch reported Thursday’s volume near 15.6 million shares, above a 50‑day average around 9.0 million, while noting the stock remained roughly 12% below its 52‑week high of $109.50 (reached Sept. 9, 2025). [1]
Friday’s tape also lands on a major calendar event for markets: December options expiration (often called “quadruple witching,” when multiple derivatives contracts expire). Investopedia said roughly $7.1 trillion in options exposure was set to expire in this cycle, a setup that can amplify intraday swings—especially in large-cap, heavily traded names like BSX. [2]
The key Boston Scientific stock headlines on Dec. 19, 2025
Several fresh notes and summaries circulating today are shaping the conversation around Boston Scientific stock:
- UBS maintained a Buy rating and a $140 price target, arguing the risk/reward heading into 2026 is “skewed to the upside,” even after a pullback in the stock over the past month. [3]
- Truist lowered its price target to $120 from $130 while keeping a Buy rating—one of the more notable target revisions highlighted in widely syndicated broker-summary coverage. [4]
- AAII published a valuation-focused critique dated Dec. 19, flagging Boston Scientific as “Ultra Expensive” by its framework, driven by premium multiples versus sector medians. [5]
- Simply Wall St leaned the other direction in a Dec. 19 piece, emphasizing the company’s upgraded earnings outlook and pointing to a fair-value estimate in the mid‑$120s (while acknowledging risks like tariffs and reimbursement pressure). [6]
- Institutional-filing roundups highlighted position changes at firms such as Voya and Osaic, reinforcing how closely held BSX is among large asset managers. [7]
Taken together, the day’s coverage shows a familiar split in late‑2025 medtech investing: bullish growth durability vs. premium valuation risk.
What’s moving BSX stock today
Boston Scientific is not reacting to a brand-new earnings release this morning. Instead, the stock appears to be trading on a mix of:
- Post-earnings digestion and price-target churn
The latest wave of analyst commentary is focused less on “what happened last quarter” and more on whether the company can sustain above-market growth into 2026—especially in faster-growing cardiovascular franchises. [8] - Macro/market mechanics (options expiration)
With broad market positioning in flux into the close, mechanically driven flows can matter more than usual—particularly for large, liquid S&P 500 constituents. [9] - A valuation debate that’s no longer just a niche viewpoint
AAII’s Dec. 19 analysis is explicitly built around the premise that BSX’s multiples screen “expensive,” while UBS simultaneously argues the growth runway may justify staying constructive. [10]
Analyst forecasts: price targets, ratings, and the 2026 setup
UBS: “Upside-skewed” risk/reward, $140 target
In an analyst note carried by Investing.com and dated Dec. 19, UBS maintained a Buy rating and $140 price target. The firm’s thesis centers on whether Boston Scientific can keep its highest-growth businesses compounding into 2026. UBS flagged:
- The Electrophysiology (EP) business as a major contributor, while acknowledging expectations for some deceleration.
- Continued conviction in WATCHMAN sustaining double‑digit growth, with attention on a CHAMPION data readout expected in spring 2026.
- A view that Boston Scientific could guide 2026 sales growth above its long‑range plan of 10%–12%, with potential upside skewed toward WATCHMAN. [11]
That combination—durable structural growth plus identifiable 2026 catalysts—is why UBS stayed firmly constructive despite the stock’s recent volatility. [12]
Truist: target trimmed to $120, but rating stays Buy
Truist’s move went the opposite direction on price target, cutting to $120 from $130, while still keeping a Buy rating in the summary widely circulated in broker coverage. The same report recapped Boston Scientific’s Q3 beat and reiterated company FY2025 adjusted EPS guidance of $3.02–$3.04 and Q4 guidance of $0.77–$0.79. [13]
Where consensus sits today
Aggregator snapshots vary by methodology and update cadence, but they cluster around a mid‑$120s view of fair value/targets, with bullish houses reaching the $140 zone and more conservative targets closer to the low‑$100s. For example, Simply Wall St cited a $126.48 fair value estimate (and also noted a wide range of community estimates). [14]
The bottom line for readers: Wall Street remains broadly positive on BSX, but the variance between “still a buy here” and “great company, pricey stock” is becoming the dominant debate. [15]
The fundamental bull case: why 2026 catalysts keep analysts engaged
Boston Scientific’s growth narrative is increasingly tied to cardiovascular therapy categories where procedure growth, physician adoption curves, and product-cycle momentum can compound.
WATCHMAN and FARAPULSE remain the headline franchises
Reuters reporting throughout 2025 repeatedly highlighted Boston Scientific’s key cardiovascular growth drivers—particularly WATCHMAN (left atrial appendage closure) and FARAPULSE (pulsed field ablation)—and placed them in a competitive landscape that includes Johnson & Johnson and Medtronic in the PFA market. [16]
Tariffs: a known headwind, but one the company says it can manage
A crucial detail for forecasting margins has been tariff exposure. In July, Reuters reported CFO commentary indicating Boston Scientific expected a full-year tariff headwind around $100 million, down from a previously projected $200 million, with the remaining impact expected to be mitigated via sales strength, mix, and cost control. [17]
Simply Wall St’s Dec. 19 write-up also framed tariffs as a “critical factor” for near-term profitability and investor confidence, even as it emphasized improved earnings outlook. [18]
M&A as an ongoing growth lever: Nalu Medical deal
Boston Scientific’s acquisition strategy remains part of the stock’s longer-term valuation story. The company announced in October an agreement to acquire Nalu Medical, expecting to close in the first half of 2026, and projecting Nalu to generate more than $60 million in 2025 sales and 25%+ growth in 2026 (with EPS impact described as immaterial in 2026, slightly accretive in 2027, and increasingly accretive thereafter on an adjusted basis). [19]
Reuters’ coverage of the deal similarly described the purchase (about $533 million in cash for remaining equity) and positioned it as an expansion of Boston Scientific’s chronic pain therapy portfolio. [20]
For BSX stock, the implication is straightforward: investors aren’t only underwriting a single device cycle—they’re underwriting an execution machine that keeps adding growth platforms. [21]
The bear case (or at least the caution case): valuation is no longer cheap
Even many bulls concede that Boston Scientific trades at a premium. The question is whether the premium is justified by growth durability and operating leverage.
AAII: “Ultra Expensive” by its Value Grade
AAII’s Dec. 19 analysis is blunt: by its composite of valuation metrics, Boston Scientific was graded F (described as “Ultra Expensive”), citing metrics such as:
- P/S ~7.34
- P/E ~51.4
- EV/EBITDA ~33.4
- P/FCF ~37.1
AAII’s argument isn’t “sell at any price,” but rather that BSX screens as expensive relative to sector medians—an important lens for investors who anchor to valuation discipline. [22]
UBS: acknowledges valuation concerns, but stays bullish
In the same Dec. 19 UBS note, the analyst acknowledged Boston Scientific “appears overvalued” according to InvestingPro’s fair value assessment, while still arguing the fundamental setup into 2026 offers attractive upside skew (especially in high-growth segments). [23]
This is the heart of the 2025 debate around BSX stock: the fundamentals look strong, but the market already knows it. [24]
Institutional ownership and insider signals investors are watching
Institutional flows: position changes in filings
MarketBeat’s Dec. 19 filing summaries highlighted notable updates, including:
- Voya Investment Management reported a large reduction in its stake during Q3, while still holding a substantial position. [25]
- Osaic Holdings reported increasing its holdings in Q2. [26]
Regardless of the quarter-to-quarter reshuffling, the broader takeaway remains that Boston Scientific is widely owned across large institutions—typical for a mega-cap medtech leader. [27]
Insider selling: not necessarily bearish, but it’s part of the narrative
MarketBeat’s summaries also noted insiders have been net sellers over the last three months and that insider ownership is relatively small. [28]
Separately, compiled Form 4 tracking shows transactions including a reported sale by EVP Arthur C. Butcher in early December, among other insider trades logged in recent weeks. [29]
Insider sales can occur for many reasons (taxes, diversification, scheduled plans), so most long-term investors treat this as context, not a standalone signal—especially when the core thesis is built around product-cycle momentum and procedure growth. [30]
What to watch next: the near-term calendar for BSX stock
1) Today’s close: options-expiration volatility
With options expiring, the final hours of trading can matter more than usual for short-term price action and liquidity. [31]
2) Next earnings: early February is the market’s working assumption
Boston Scientific has not formally confirmed its next earnings date in every venue, but major market calendars currently estimate the next report around February 4, 2026 (algorithmically derived estimates on Nasdaq and Zacks). [32]
3) 2026 catalysts: WATCHMAN clinical data and execution on growth guidance
A major focal point in today’s bullish research is the expectation for a CHAMPION data readout in spring 2026, plus the company’s ability to guide 2026 growth above its long-range plan. [33]
4) Integration and timing for Nalu
Investors will also watch for updates on the expected first-half 2026 closing timeline and progress in the neuromodulation franchise. [34]
The takeaway for Dec. 19, 2025
Boston Scientific stock is trading modestly lower today, but the news flow around BSX is more about framing 2026 than reacting to a single headline. Bulls can point to sticky cardiovascular growth drivers, defined upcoming clinical catalysts, and a track record of portfolio expansion via M&A. [35]
Skeptics—and even some neutrals—are increasingly pointing to the same counterweight: premium valuation, with independent screens like AAII labeling the stock expensive on multiple traditional metrics. [36]
In other words, BSX is still being treated like a high-quality medtech compounder—but the market is demanding continued excellence to justify the price. [37]
References
1. www.marketwatch.com, 2. www.investopedia.com, 3. www.investing.com, 4. www.marketbeat.com, 5. www.aaii.com, 6. simplywall.st, 7. www.marketbeat.com, 8. www.investing.com, 9. www.investopedia.com, 10. www.aaii.com, 11. www.investing.com, 12. www.investing.com, 13. www.marketbeat.com, 14. simplywall.st, 15. www.investing.com, 16. www.reuters.com, 17. www.reuters.com, 18. simplywall.st, 19. news.bostonscientific.com, 20. www.reuters.com, 21. www.reuters.com, 22. www.aaii.com, 23. www.investing.com, 24. www.aaii.com, 25. www.marketbeat.com, 26. www.marketbeat.com, 27. www.marketbeat.com, 28. www.marketbeat.com, 29. www.secform4.com, 30. www.secform4.com, 31. www.investopedia.com, 32. www.nasdaq.com, 33. www.investing.com, 34. news.bostonscientific.com, 35. www.investing.com, 36. www.aaii.com, 37. www.investing.com
