Omnicell Inc. (OMCL) reported third quarter 2009 earnings per share of 10 cents yesterday, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 2 cents. However, earnings per share came below the year-ago figure of 18 cents. Total revenues for the reported quarter were $54.0 million, declining 16.1% year over year. The decline can be attributed to lower demand [...]

(OMCL) Omnicell Eclipses Consensus Estimate

The global medical devices industry is fairly large and is valued at roughly $223 billion, with the U.S. accounting for approximately 41%. The industry is divided into different categories such as Cardiology, Oncology, Neuro, Orthopedic, Aesthetic Devices and Healthcare IT. In the medical devices space, we recommend that investors focus on companies providing life-sustaining products. These [...]

(MDRX) Medical Devices – Industry Outlook

Today there were a couple of posts about how tech stocks are currently especially attractive because they hold plenty of cash and tend to have little debt. Paul Kedrosky initially caught my eye with his post "Tech Cash is King" which in turn pointed me to a story on Bloomberg by Eric Martin. I ran a screen tonight that looked at both cash and debt. Specifically, I screened for a Price-to-Cash ratio under three, a Debt-to-Equity ratio under three and a Market Cap greater than $2.5 million. Based on these criteria, I obtained a list of 136 stocks. Judging from our list, it is absolutely true that many tech stocks do seem to have lots of cash and little debt. What also became apparent as I went through the list is that there[More...]

Since the beginning of the global economic crisis, medical device stocks have fared no better than the overall market with both down just over 40% since September 1 2008 on a market weighted basis. We continue to recommend that investors focus on companies providing life-sustaining products. These should remain insulated from the current economic crisis as target patients are unable to forego procedures. The recent slide in the market has left many strong companies looking very attractive. In the coming year, investors should allocate funds to companies with high earnings quality profiles. We recommend companies with the following characteristics: Size - (1) Larger companies will find it easier to survive any future liquidity issues and acquire new technologies at cents on the dollar Scope - (1) Companies providing life-sustaining products should remain insulated from the current[More...]

Immucor, Inc. (BLUD) continues to progress in the development of another version of the Galileo. The company's strong earnings growth has been driven by double-digit sales escalation, gross margin expansion, and operating cost control. The additional worldwide placements of Galileo continue to help drive Immucor's growth. Instrument placements are expected to be further driven by the successful launch of Echo. The company is under pressure from the Echo launch but gross margins are expected to regain momentum from the eventual growth in reagent sales, manufacturing efficiencies, and price increases. Although dilutive during development of the technology, the pending acquisition of BioArray Solutions is expected to transform BLUD into a leader in molecular diagnostic systems for blood transfusions. At its current price of $30.22 per share, BLUD is trading at roughly 32x our[More...]