We recently published a list of Top 10 Stocks to Buy According to Marshall Wace LLP. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) stands against other top stocks to buy according to Marshall Wace LLP.
Marshall Wace LLP is a prominent British hedge fund established in 1997 by Paul Marshall and Ian Wace. Headquartered in London, the firm has grown to become one of the world’s leading hedge funds. The firm operates as a unified global team, dedicated to fostering long-term client relationships built on trust and integrity, with a culture centered on continuous innovation and improvement.
Sir Paul Roderick Clucas Marshall, known simply as Paul Marshall, serves as the chairman and chief investment officer of Marshall Wace. Born in London, England, he studied history and modern languages at St John’s College, Oxford before earning an MBA from INSEAD Business School in Fontainebleau, France. Prior to co-founding Marshall Wace, Marshall was the Head of European Equities at Mercury Asset Management.
Beyond finance, Marshall is best known as a philanthropist and media baron. He expanded his influence into media by owning UnHerd and The Spectator and co-owning GB News. His philanthropic efforts are equally notable; he was named the top donor on The Sunday Times Giving List in 2024 after donating a hefty sum to various causes including the London School of Economics to establish the Marshall Institute. He was knighted in the 2016 Birthday Honours for his contributions to education and philanthropy.
Politically, Marshall was initially a member and donor of the Liberal Democrats, co-editing the influential Orange Book in 2004 alongside key party figures. However, his stance shifted in 2015 when he left the party due to his support for Brexit. He later became a major donor to the Brexit campaign and the Conservative Party. His ownership of UnHerd and GB News has positioned him as a significant right-wing media figure in the UK.
Ian Gerald Patrick Wace serves as the firm’s chief executive officer and chief risk officer. Despite not holding a college degree, he has achieved exceptional success in the finance industry, earning recognition as “perhaps the only person without a college degree to ever qualify” for Institutional Investor’s Rich List. Wace began his career at S.G. Warburg & Co., where he spent 11 years and became the firm’s youngest director at the age of 25. His rapid ascent continued as he was appointed head of European equity sales in 1988, head of proprietary trading in 1993, and head of international trading in 1994. In 1995, he joined Deutsche Morgan Grenfell as head of equity and derivative trading, further establishing his expertise in the financial sector before co-founding Marshall Wace in 1997.
Marshall Wace LLP manages quantitative, systematic, and fundamental investment strategies, with a primary focus on long/short equity. These strategies are implemented on a global scale, utilizing proprietary systems and processes to optimize performance. For over two decades, technology and data have been central to the firm’s operations. In 2002, Marshall Wace introduced MW TOPS, its Trade Optimized Portfolio System and the world’s first ‘Alpha Capture’ application. This revolutionized the way investment insights were harnessed and contributed largely to its prominence in the hedge fund industry. Today, the firm remains committed to innovation and excellence, continuously refining its methodologies to maintain a competitive edge in the financial markets. Despite its success, Marshall Wace has faced recent challenges; in the fiscal year ending February 2024, the firm’s revenues declined substantially, leading to a nearly 64% drop in profits.
Marshall Wace LLP’s Q4 2024 13F filing reported over $83 billion in managed 13F securities, with its top 10 holdings accounting for 34.5% of the total portfolio.
Our Methodology
The stocks discussed below were picked from Marshall Wace LLP’s Q4 2024 13F filings. They are compiled in the ascending order of the hedge fund’s stake in them as of December 31, 2024. To assist readers with more context, we have included the hedge fund sentiment regarding each stock using data from over 1,000 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
Paul Marshall of Marshall Wace
Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders as of Q4: 96
Marshall Wace LLP’s Equity Stake: $791.90 Million
With a market capitalization of $154.8 billion, Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) is a leader in medical innovation, specializing in the development and commercialization of advanced medical devices. Based in Marlborough, Massachusetts, the company offers solutions across multiple interventional medical fields, addressing cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, oncological, neurological, and urological conditions.
In its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report on February 5, 2025, Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) posted a 22.4% year-over-year revenue increase to $4.6 billion, driven by strong performance across its business segments. Net income increased by 12% to $566 million, while operating profit rose 28% to $790 million, highlighting improved efficiency and profitability. Adjusted earnings per share rose 26% to $0.70, exceeding expectations of $0.66. The cardiovascular segment, led by the success of the Farapulse system, grew nearly 29% to $2.94 billion, while the medical-surgical division reported a 12% revenue increase.
Looking ahead, Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) anticipates 10-12% organic sales growth in 2025, with adjusted earnings per share expected to range between $2.80 and $2.87 and first-quarter adjusted EPS projected between $0.66 and $0.68. This optimistic outlook reinforces its strong market position and continued expansion. Analysts remain highly bullish on Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX), assigning it a “Strong Buy” rating. The stock’s mean price target of $118.53 represents a 14.4% upside from current levels, reflecting confidence in its growth trajectory and sustained innovation in medical technology. The company’s strategic investments, operational efficiencies, and ability to navigate economic headwinds position it well for sustained success in the medical device industry.
Investor interest in Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) has been on the rise, with Marshall Wace LLP holding over 8.8 million shares valued at nearly $792 million by the end of Q4 2024, representing 0.95% of its portfolio. Additionally, hedge fund participation increased, as 96 of the 1,009 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey had stakes in the company in Q4 2024, collectively valued at nearly $7.22 billion, up from 92 funds in the previous quarter. This surge in institutional investment underscores strong confidence in the company’s growth prospects and reinforces its position as a favored stock among investors.
Baron Health Care Fund stated the following regarding Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) is a global manufacturer of devices used in a broad range of interventional medical specialties. Shares climbed steadily throughout the quarter on solid company fundamentals, including a double-digit EPS growth profile and cost discipline that produces more than 50 basis points of annual operating margin expansion. We believe Boston Scientific can see sustainable organic growth in the high single digits, driven by differentiated products in electrophysiology and structural heart, in particular, the emerging field of pulsed field ablation (PFA), where the company is well positioned. Temperature-based methods (either hot or cold) to disable heart tissue responsible for irregular heartbeats can damage surrounding tissue. PFA relies on electricity to damage aberrant tissue, and because different types of tissue have different electrical thresholds, the surrounding tissue can be selectively spared. In our opinion, Boston Scientific is a compelling name within the large-cap medical device universe.”
Overall, BSX ranks 7th on our list of top stocks to buy according to Marshall Wace LLP. While we acknowledge the potential for BSX as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than BSX but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
