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Abiomed Hits New 52-Week High: 3 Factors Driving the Stock

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Abiomed, Inc.'s price scaled a new 52-week high of $228.08 on Jan 18, eventually closing a bit lower at $225.89. The company’s shares have gained 56.5% in the last six months, compared with the broader industry’s 9.7% gain.

Headquartered in Danvers, MA, Abiomed is engaged in developing, manufacturing and marketing of medical products, designed to assist or replace the pumping function in cases of heart failure.

The stock has a market cap of $9.98 billion. It is currently one of the top-performing stocks in the MedTech space. Improvement in price performance and strong fundamentals indicates the stock’s bullish run. Therefore, if you haven’t taken advantage of the price appreciation yet, it’s time you add the stock to your portfolio. A long-term expected earnings growth rate of 31.5% holds promise for the stock.

What’s Driving the Stock?

Let’s take a look at three major factors that have been boosting Abiomed lately.

Strong Preliminary Results

Abiomed recently reported preliminary third-quarter fiscal 2018 revenues of approximately $154 million, up 34% on a year-over-year basis. U.S. revenues from Impella products are likely to be $130.7 million, up from from $100.3 million year over year. Further, preliminary fiscal 2018 guidance has been raised to approximately $582 million, up 31% from the prior-year quarter.

Impella Product Line

Abiomed’s expanding product portfolio is expected to strengthen the company’s foothold in the prophylactic high-risk PCI and cardiogenic shock patient market. In this regard, the company’s Impella line of products deserves a mention. Per management, Impella is the world's smallest heart pump. It is a support system of percutaneous, catheter-based devices offering hemodynamic support to the heart.

Abiomed’s Impella 2.5, Impella CP and Impella 5.0 are FDA-approved pumps that treat cardiogenic shock. Further, the Impella 2.5 and Impella CP are approved to treat urgent percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) such as stenting or balloon angioplasty and cure blocked coronary arteries. The company’s right-side heart pump, the Impella RP device, cures right heart failure.

ABIOMED, Inc. Price and Consensus

 

ABIOMED, Inc. Price and Consensus | ABIOMED, Inc. Quote

 

The company also has an Automated Impella Controller, which is a primary user interface for the Impella platform featuring a highly exclusive 10-inch high-resolution display.

Per bcc Research, the global market for cardiac medical devices is projected to reach $67.5 billion by 2019 at a CAGR of 5.3% during 2014-2019. Considering the prospects in the niche space, we expect Abiomed to gain solid market tractions in the years to come.

Northward Estimate Revision

One estimate for the current year moved north in the past 60 days against no southward revisions, which indicates analysts’ optimism in the company. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for adjusted earnings increased 0.8% for the current year. The positive trend signifies analyst’s bullish sentiment. The company holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), which indicates robust fundamentals and expectations of outperformance in the near term. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2018 revenues is pegged at $577.2 million, up 29.6% year over year. Moreover, revenues are expected to grow 27.1% in fiscal 2019.

Other Key Picks

Other top-ranked stocks in the broader medical sector are Integer Holdings Corporation (ITGR - Free Report) , Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (BIO - Free Report) and Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG - Free Report) .

Bio-Rad Laboratories flaunts a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The company has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 25%.

Integer Holdings has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 15%. The stock carries a Zacks Rank #2.

Intuitive Surgical has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 9.2%. The stock carries a Zacks Rank #2.

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