Update: Morgan Keegan Raising Price Target On Baxter International Inc.

Morgan Keegan is raising its price target Baxter International Inc. BAX to $70 after meeting with management. It has an Outperform rating on shares. In a note to clients, Morgan Keegan writes, "We recently met with senior management of Baxter, including the chief executive officer. the chief financial officer, and the chief scientific officer. Although there was no substantial new information, we felt incrementally better about long-term margin expansion and management's focus on creating shareholder value through R&D initiatives, cost reductions, business development, and share repurchase. We continue to expect accelerating EPS growth in 2012, which should drive multiple expansion. We now believe that Baxter shares can trade at a 15x P/E, which moves our price target up to $70 from $64. With no change to our Outperform rating, we would purchase Baxter stock at current levels." Shares of BAX lost 4 cents yesterday to close at $60.22.