Spinoff should take Baxter higher

Article Excerpt

Shares of medical device maker Baxter have dropped 7% in the past six months. The decline reflects investor fears that new GLP-1 diabetes drugs, such as Ozempic, will hurt demand for Baxter’s kidney dialysis equipment (diabetes contributes to kidney disease). However, the new drugs are more likely to delay a patient’s transition to dialysis, not eliminate it entirely. Meantime, Baxter continues to simplify its operations and strengthen its balance sheet. That includes last year’s sale of its BioPharma Solutions business, whose products and services help drugmakers manufacture their products. Baxter also plans to spin off by July 2024 its Kidney Care unit as Vantive. This division accounts for about 30% of Baxter’s revenue. The remaining operations will focus on making specialized equipment for hospitals. Those operations include Hill-Rom Holdings Inc., which Baxter acquired in late 2021 for $10.5 billion. Based in Chicago, Hill-Rom makes a variety of medical care devices and products, including intensive-care-unit beds, operating tables, patient monitoring equipment and electronic…