Tough Q2 earnings reports and lowered 2012 forecasts push shares of medical device company Boston Scientific to the lowest level in 17 years.

Shares of Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) hit the lowest level in almost 20 years as investors fled following a tough earnings report and lowered 2012 forecasts.

BSX shares were trading around $4.79 apiece as of about 2 p.m. on Thursday, a level not seen since 1995. Shares did rebound slightly before closing at $4.97, down nearly 7% from yesterday's closing bid of $5.33. You'd have to go back to February 22, 1995 for the last time the stock closed at these levels.

The sell-off was not a surprise as earlier in the day, the Natick, Mass.-based device maker reported that it had swung to a $3.4 billion loss, lowered its year-end guidance and saw its bread and butter businesses drop by double-digit percentage points during the 2nd quarter.