Shares of Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) tumbled more than 4% in early trading Wednesday after the medical device maker disclosed that a cyberattack could jeopardize as much as $369 million in third-quarter sales. The stock fell 4.11% to $47.81 by 09:40 EDT, erasing roughly $2.97 billion in market value.
The company said the incident, detected on August 25, affected systems responsible for processing and shipping customer orders worldwide. Boston Scientific has activated response protocols, engaged external cybersecurity experts, and warned that some operations may continue to experience disruptions during the recovery process.
Evercore ISI analyst Vijay Kumar estimated that the outage could reduce third-quarter revenue by 600 to 700 basis points, translating to a hit of $316 million to $369 million based on the company's guidance midpoint. The market's reaction, however, was far more severe, with the value loss running roughly 8.7 times the projected revenue impact, highlighting investor concerns about recovery timelines, margin pressures, and potential customer disruption.
Kumar drew comparisons to Stryker Corporation (NYSE: SYK), which experienced a similar cyber incident that was resolved in about three weeks. He cautioned that a faster recovery could mitigate revenue losses, while an extended shutdown could weigh on revenue, margins, and customer relationships.
Boston Scientific has not yet assessed whether the event could have a material effect on its business, and the investigation is ongoing. The company has not disclosed whether any data was exfiltrated.
The stock opened at $47.00 and traded in a range of $46.90 to $48.53, with 1.89 million shares changing hands by mid-morning, compared to the average daily volume of 19.90 million.
Boston Scientific reported second-quarter sales of $5.442 billion, up 7.5% year-over-year, with adjusted earnings of $0.86 per share, up from $0.75. Cardiovascular sales rose 8.3% to $3.624 billion, while MedSurg revenue increased 5.9% to $1.818 billion. The cardiovascular segment, being the larger of the two, represents the main operating exposure if shipment constraints persist.
For the third quarter, the company forecasts sales growth of 3% to 5%, or approximately $5.22 billion to $5.32 billion, compared with $5.065 billion in the prior-year period. Adjusted earnings are projected at $0.80 to $0.82 per share.
Prior to the incident, Wall Street sentiment was largely positive, with 31 analysts holding a consensus Buy recommendation and a mean price target of $62.69, representing a 31% upside from Wednesday's early price.
Investors are now seeking clarity on the recovery timeline, evidence that shipments have resumed, and whether delayed orders can be fulfilled before the quarter ends. The incident underscores the growing cybersecurity risks facing healthcare companies and the potential financial fallout from operational disruptions.
