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ABIOMED (ABMD) to Report Q4 Earnings: What's in the Cards?

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ABIOMED, Inc.  is scheduled to release fourth-quarter fiscal 2021 results on Apr 29, before the opening bell. The company delivered an earnings surprise of 1.7% in the last reported quarter. Its earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average being 49.6%.

Q4 Estimate Picture

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ABIOMED’s revenues for the fiscal fourth quarter is pegged at $230.4 million, suggesting 11.5% growth from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure. The consensus estimate for earnings stands at $1.10 per share, indicating 10% growth from the year-earlier period’s reported number.

Factors Likely at Play

ABIOMED is likely to have witnessed a fall in U.S. Impella product revenues during the fiscal fourth quarter due to a drop in U.S. patient usage of Impella heart pumps amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nonetheless, the treatment success rates of ABIOMED’s SmartAssist, Impella Connect, IQ Impella Quality Assurance Database and Impella 5.0 are expected to have contributed to the fiscal fourth quarter performance. Strong momentum of the Impella product line seen in the fiscal third quarter, both in Europe and Japan, is expected to have continued through the fiscal fourth quarter as well.

In the fiscal third quarter, Impella RP revenues registered solid year-over-year growth, aided by strength in patient utilization and an expanded FDA emergency use authorization (EUA) for COVID complications including pulmonary embolism. This trend is likely to have continued in the fiscal fourth quarter too.

The full commercial launch of Impella 5.5 in May 2020 might have continued to drive the company’s performance in the to-be-reported quarter. Moreover, Impella 2.5 and CP with SmartAssist are currently in high demand, which are likely to have aided the company’s performance in the quarter to be reported.

In October 2020, the company announced a 510(k) clearance for ABIOMED’s Breethe OXY-1 System, whichis being rolled out via a controlled introduction at select hospitals in the United States. In the same month, management announced a successful first-in-human series of two patients in the U.S. FDA early feasibility study on Impella ECP.

In December 2020, the company achieved success in treating the first two patients in the world with the help of its Breethe OXY-1 System, a compact cardiopulmonary bypass system. Notably, the Breethe system expedited early mobilization and physical rehabilitation, which are of paramount importance to patient recovery.

In January 2021, management announced that a huge study of 356 patients treated with Impella 5.5 through SmartAssist across 16 U.S. and German centers demonstrated a 79% survival rate at explant.

These breakthroughs are likely to have boosted the company’s results in the fiscal fourth quarter.

 

ABIOMED, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

ABIOMED, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

 

ABIOMED, Inc. price-eps-surprise | ABIOMED, Inc. Quote

 

However, it is significant to note that the fiscal fourth quarter persistently bore the brunt of the pandemic, hurting interventional cardiology procedures. This, is turn, might have also weighed on the company’s Impella product line in the soon-to-be-reported quarter.

Moreover, the company has been facing high-pricing pressure due to intensifying competition in the key markets for a while now. This too is expected to have squeezed the company’s margin expansion.

What the Zacks Model Unveils

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for ABIOMED this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. But this is not the case here as you will see below.

Earnings ESP: ABIOMED has an Earnings ESP of +1.07%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: ABIOMED currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Stocks Worth a Look

Here are some medical stocks worth considering as these have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this reporting cycle.

AmerisourceBergen has an Earnings ESP of +0.50% and a Zacks Rank #3, currently. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Stryker Corporation (SYK - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.11% and is a Zacks #3 Ranked stock, presently.

Zimmer Biomet Holdings (ZBH - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +1.92% and a Zacks Rank of 3 at present.

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