FDA Clears Cooper Avaira Toric

CooperVision, a segment of The Cooper Companies ( COO - Analyst Report ) , a company dedicated to contact lens and women’s health, recently revealed that the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) has granted a Special 510 (k) for its Avaira Toric silicone hydrogel bi-weekly contact lenses to correct astigmatism.

The company will shortly re-launch the Avaira Toric lenses. Its lenses provide a comfortable fit for a wide range of powers. Other features include its superior ballast architecture and the Aquaform Comfort Science, which allows the lens material to maintain moisture. These contact lenses illustrate the company’s determination to ensure that eye care specialists have as many choices as possible when dispensing lenses.

Cooper, a global medical products company, specializes in a wide range of contact lenses for the vision correction market with a smaller strategic business unit for women’s health. It reportedly holds the number three position in the $6 billion global contact lens industry.

The company is a leader in the high-margin toric lens market. It offers multiple designs of toric lenses, across a wide range of parameters, unlike some of its competitors, who offer toric lenses in a limited number of designs. Cooper is benefiting from strong demand for its Biofinity toric lenses.

However, Cooper faces formidable competition in each of its major product lines. Competition comes from well established global contact lens makers such as Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ - Analyst Report ) and Novartis ( NVS - Snapshot Report ) . Depressed levels of consumer spending have heightened the company’s competitive pressures. We currently have a Neutral recommendation on Cooper. The stock currently retains a Zacks #2 Rank, which translates into a short-term “Buy” recommendation.