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Medical Product Stocks' Earnings Due on May 4: ABMD & More

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The Q1 reporting cycle has been quite impressive so far, with results from 288 S&P 500 index members already out (as of Apr 28). This accounted for almost 63.8% of the index’s total market capitalization.

This week is set to see releases from more than 1000 companies, including 126 from the S&P 500 cohort. Per our latest Earnings Preview, first-quarter earnings for the S&P 500 companies are expected to be up 11.2% from the year-ago quarter on 6.2% growth in revenues.

Medical, one of the broader sectors among the 16 Zacks sectors, is expected to record earnings growth in the quarter. So far, 53.7% of the members from this sector posted earnings and revenue beats of an average 93.1% and 79.3%, respectively.

Medical Product Industry at a Glance

Medical product, an important part of the medical device subcategory within the broader Medical sector, looks promising at the moment. Investors are bullish as the Zacks categorized Medical-Products industry registered growth of 8.2% in the last three months, comfortably outperforming the S&P 500 Index that gained only 4.3%.

Notably, the growth story in the space exclusively pertains to the market dynamics and the shift in consumer demand, courtesy of the growing prevalence of minimally invasive surgeries, liquid biopsy tests, and use of IT for ensuring quick and improved patient care among other things. Furthermore, cost-effective products and techniques targeting emerging markets raise optimism.

On the flipside, the recent political conundrum in the healthcare space pertaining to the ‘Trumpcare’ is a headwind. Amid such unpredictability, let us take a look at how the Medical Product players are positioned this earnings season.

Below we discuss four major Medical Product bigwigs, which are scheduled to release their earnings results on May 4:

Abiomed Inc.

Headquartered in Danvers, MA, and founded in 1981, Abiomed is engaged in developing, manufacturing and marketing medical products to assist or replace the pumping function during heart failure. The company is set to release its financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017. Notably, Abiomed beat estimates in three of the last four quarters, reflecting an average beat of 16.4%.

We believe robust demand for Impella products will continue to drive Abiomed’s top line in the fiscal fourth quarter. In fact, the company will leverage from the growing number of coronary heart disease (CHD) patients in the U.S. Meanwhile, Impella revenues grew a strong 35% globally to $109.2 million in the last quarter.

Buoyed by the strong prospects, our quantitative model predicts an earnings beat for Abiomed as it has the right combination of two key ingredients. Notably, the stock has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and an Earnings ESP of +6.06%. That is because, as per our model, a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 to beat earnings. Simultaneously, we caution against stocks with a Zacks Rank #4 or 5 (Sell-rated) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.

You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they're reported with our Earnings ESP Filter .

ABIOMED, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

 

ABIOMED, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise | ABIOMED, Inc. Quote

AmerisourceBergen Corporation

Chesterbrook, PA-based AmerisourceBergen is one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical services companies. The company is scheduled to release results for the second quarter of fiscal 2017, before the bell.

AmerisourceBergen’s pharmaceutical distribution segment continues to face headwinds in the form of contract renewals and lower generic inflation. These factors, combined with an anticipated shift in product mix toward lower-margin and higher-priced specialty and branded drugs, and lack of generic inflation will adversely impact the bottom line

However, the company renewed its relationship with the largest health systems’ customer and has been making consistent efforts to address challenges in the ABDC segment. This can boost the top line to some extent in the fiscal second quarter (read more: AmerisourceBergen Q2 Earnings: Will it Disappoint?).

Our quantitative model does not conclusively show a beat for the company this season, given the combination of a Zacks Rank #3 and an Earnings ESP of -1.75%.

Teleflex Incorporated (TFX - Free Report)

Headquartered in Wayne, PA, the company designs, develops, manufactures and supplies single-use medical devices for common diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in critical care and surgical applications worldwide. The company is set to release its financial results for the first quarter of 2017, before the market opens.

The streak of positive earnings surprises in the last four trailing quarters (average 6.13%) is noteworthy. We believe stabilization in the company’s end markets will lead to constant currency revenue growth in the quarter.

However, our quantitative model does not conclusively predict a beat for the company this season, given the combination of a Zacks Rank #2 and an Earnings ESP of 0.00%

Teleflex Incorporated Price and EPS Surprise

 

Teleflex Incorporated Price and EPS Surprise | Teleflex Incorporated Quote

Bio-rad Laboratories, Inc. (BIO - Free Report)

Headquartered in Hercules, CA, Bio-Rad is a global provider of life science research and clinical diagnostic products. The company is scheduled to release its financial results for the first quarter of 2017, following the close of market.

In the last quarter, the company beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 25%. Furthermore, solid sales of Bio-rad’s diabetes monitoring and auto immune testing products    in its Clinical Diagnostics Group is expected to drive the top line this quarter.

However, our quantitative model does not conclusively predict a beat for the company this season, given the combination of a Zacks Rank #2 and an Earnings ESP of 0.00%.

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