Research Update: Boston Scientific Corp. Ratings Raised To 'BBB' From 'BBB-'; Short-Term Rating Raised To 'A-2'; Outlook Stable

Boston Scientific Corp. reported strong operating performance in the first quarter of 2021, reflecting procedure volume recovery and new product launches. It resulted in annualized first-quarter leverage of 3.2x. We project the company's revenue and EBITDA growth will remain strong through 2021 as the continued COVID-19 vaccine rollout reduces global infection rates and improves medical procedure volumes, maintaining leverage in the low-3x area. In addition, the company has settled most cases related to the pelvic mesh litigation over the last few years, eliminating uncertainty about litigation outcomes. We raised our issuer credit rating and senior unsecured debt rating on Boston Scientific to 'BBB' from 'BBB-'. In addition, we raised our short-term rating to 'A-2' from 'A-3'. The rating outlook is

...- Boston Scientific Corp. reported strong operating performance in the first quarter of 2021, reflecting procedure volume recovery and new product launches. It resulted in annualized first-quarter leverage of 3.2x. - We project the company's revenue and EBITDA growth will remain strong through 2021 as the continued COVID-19 vaccine rollout reduces global infection rates and improves medical procedure volumes, maintaining leverage in the low-3x area. - In addition, the company has settled most cases related to the pelvic mesh litigation over the last few years, eliminating uncertainty about litigation outcomes. - We raised our issuer credit rating and senior unsecured debt rating on Boston Scientific to '###' from '###-'. In addition, we raised our short-term rating to 'A-2' from 'A-3'. The rating outlook is stable. - The stable outlook reflects our expectation that continued strong EBITDA growth and projected free operating cash flow (FOCF) of at least $1 billion in 2021 should allow the...

Research Update