Seeking Alpha: Spectranetics Still Searching For Traction In Peripheral

After so many years, it's interesting to see that there are still a few sell-side analysts willing to stick their heads out and support Spectranetics (SPNC). More than 25 years into its life as a medical device company, Spectranetics has yet to really carve out much more than niche applications for its laser ablation products. While the company may at last be in place to deliver some meaningful cash flow leverage, it looks like valuation is already ahead of the story.

Double-Digit Growth In Q4
Spectranetics delivered 11% growth in the fourth quarter, with 12% growth in its lead management business and 13% growth in its vascular business. Sales of disposables rose more than 12%, and the company placed an additional 8 laser units in the field (taking the total north of 1,000). To be fair, that's quite a good result when compared to other peripheral vascular companies like Bard (BCR), Covidien (COV), and Cardiovascular Solutions (CSII). 

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Spectranetics Still Searching For Traction In Peripheral

Seeking Alpha: This Bard's Tale Still Worth Hearing

Medical device manufacturer C.R. Bard (NYSE: BCR) has never been really owned for its exceptional growth potential or its exciting product lineup. What it has been appreciated for, though, is years of excellent free cash flow production, consistent performance, and a largely defensive portfolio of assets that has generated some of the best returns in the sector. While a poor operating environment has shown that Bard too is mortal, investors may yet want to consider this stock as a conservative addition to their portfolio.

One Of The Best Of The Rest
A great deal of attention in medical devices goes toward major product categories like coronary stents, cardiac rhythm management, and orthopedics, with the occasional hot growth story like surgical robotics or transcatheter heart valves. Where Bard excels, though, is in the “other” - a broad of array of devices that address significant medical issues, but just don't capture quite as much attention.

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This Bard's Tale Still Worth Hearing

Seeking Alpha: AngioDynamics Sorely Testing Investor Patience

Investors in small-cap med-tech not only expect growth, they demand growth. When a company delivers, like Abiomed (ABMD) or Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), investors happily bid the shares up to rich valuations. Where growth is lacking, so too are attractive multiples. Accordingly, any investor who approaches AngioDynamics (ANGO) with the thought that it is seriously undervalued needs to understand that this company absolutely has to start executing on growth initiatives.

Ups And Downs In Fiscal Q2
Revenue growth of nearly 9% in the fiscal second quarter actually puts AngioDynamics in pretty good shape relative to most interventional product companies, as procedure counts have yet to recover from the recession. U.S. growth was 6%, while international sales rose 27%. Looking at the segments, vascular continues to be weak (up just 2%) as a decent result in peripheral therapy offset declines in access. The company's oncology/surgery business continues to be a growth driver as NanoKnife sales doubled to over $3 million and overall segment sales rose 25%.

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AngioDynamics Sorely Testing Investor Patience

Investopedia: Covidien Delivers Again

Maybe Covidien (NYSE:COV) goes overlooked because it doesn't have a hype-growth (or hyper-growth, if you prefer) market like surgical robotics or transcathether heart valves. On the other hand, it also doesn't have a big reliance on stagnant markets like orthopedics, stents, or implantable cardioverter defibrillators to weigh it down. Though Covidien admittedly lacks some pizazz, this continues to be an underrated and under-appreciated med-tech name that could deliver solid returns to a patient investor.

A Respectable Close to the Year  
Although Covidien didn't blow the doors off in its fiscal fourth quarter, its core performance, in a weak healthcare market, nonetheless holds up well against rivals like Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Bard CR (NYSE:BCR), Becton Dickinson (NYSE:BDX) and Stryker (NYSE:SYK). Reported growth of 15% certainly looked awesome, but sizable chunks of that were due to currency and an extra week in the quarter. Strip that away, and organic growth was a bit above 3% - not terrible in this market, but certainly not 15% either.

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Investopedia: Covidien's Image Starting To Change

For most of its time as an independent company, Covidien (NYSE:COV) has struggled to change a Wall Street perception that it was a slow-growth collection of unimpressive assets, sullied in part by a parent company that for years preferred to drain cash from the business rather than reinvest. Opinions and perceptions are slow to change, but with some dynamic acquisitions, new products, and strong performance relative to peers, it may be time to change the tune on Covidien. 


A Very Good Third Quarter
Disappointingly sluggish core surgery results from Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Stryker (NYSE:SYK) and Bard (NYSE:BCR) made it seem likely that Covidien would have a fairly unimpressive third quarter. Covidien, though, actually delivered solid results.

To be fair, this is a relative evaluation. Reported revenue growth of 14% looked nice, but constant currency growth was a more modest 9% and organic growth was an even more modest 4%. Nevertheless, with 4% constant currency growth in devices, Covidien looked like a share gainer this quarter. The company's pharmaceutical business (down 4% constant currency) and medical supply (up 2%) were less impressive. 



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Investopedia: Bard Not So Bulletproof

Diversified medical device maker C.R. Bard (NYSE:BCR) does not often get a lot of attention from small investors, but it has long been a popular name with institutional investor. The company has a long track record of consistent topline growth and one of the best histories of return on capital in the sector. Because of its consistency, its execution, and its well-diversified base of business, Bard has carried a premium valuation for some time. 

Thursday's earnings shook up that idyll. Bard missed on both the top line and gross margin, and the company's vulnerability to the U.S. market once again came front and center. Perhaps, then, those shorts (Bard had an unusually high short ratio going into these earnings) had the right idea. 


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Covidien Shuffles The Deck

One of the least-surprising take-outs I've seen was today's announcement that ev3 is getting bought out. That said, I'm not sure you could have found 10 people who would have put Covidien in the top three most likely buyers. Bard would have made sense to me, as well as Cook or even Boston Scientific or JNJ. But Covidien? 

Strange times... 

By the way, I do own shares of JNJ.

Medical technology companies, particularly the larger ones, tend to be quite acquisitive. So, another sign that normalcy may be returning to the economy and the market is when acquisitions start to tick up again. The good news is, this appears to be happening now. In the wake of the Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) and ATS Medical deal a little while ago, Tuesday saw the announcement of a larger deal between Covidien (NYSE:COV) and ev3 (Nasdaq:EVVV). 

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