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Here's Why You Should Retain Glaukos (GKOS) Stock Right Now

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Glaukos Corporation (GKOS - Free Report) is well-poised for growth backed by strength in iStent technology and robust product portfolio. However, stiff competition remains a concern.

The stock has soared 117.9% compared with the industry’s growth of 19.6% in a year’s time. Also, the S&P 500 Index has rallied 39.2% in the same time frame.

Glaukos — with a market capitalization of $3.89 billion — is a leading ophthalmic medical technology and pharmaceutical company. It projects 31% growth for 2022 and expects to maintain its strong performance. Moreover, the company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise 56.5%, on average.

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Let’s take a closer look at the factors that substantiate the company’s Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Factor Hurting the Stock

Glaukos’ competitors include medical companies, academic and research institutions or others that develop new drugs, therapies medical devices or surgical procedures to treat glaucoma. Therefore, intense competition continues to weigh on the company’s overall performance.

Key Catalysts

Glaukos’ flagship iStent is the first FDA-approved surgical device available for insertion in conjunction with cataract surgery. This is done for the reduction of intraocular pressure in adult patients with mild-to-moderate open-angle glaucoma.

Management at Glaukos continues to remain optimistic about the prospects in the iStent platform worldwide, including the emerging economies. The company advanced the U.S. commercial rollout of the iStent inject W, offering the same safety and efficacy of iStent inject but with added benefits during the first quarter of 2021. During the same time, Glaukos also advanced the commercial rollout of iStent inject W in key international markets like Australia, Japan and several European countries.

The product has received stand-alone indication approval in Australia and regulatory approval in India, along with registering continued progress across many of the key market access initiatives.

Further, the company expects a robust pipeline of new product launches to substantially expand its market opportunities. With the targeted launches of iStent infinite in late 2021, and promising longer-term programs of iStent SA, iDose TREX, iDose Rock and the IOP Sensor program, Glaukos believes that it is well positioned to drive sustainable long-term growth in its glaucoma franchise in the near future.

Estimates Trend

Glaukos is witnessing a positive estimate revision trend for 2021. In the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its loss per share has narrowed from a loss of $1.06 to a loss of 87 cents.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s second-quarter 2021 revenues is pegged at $71 million, suggesting a 124.9% surge from the year-ago reported number.

Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks from the broader medical space are Veeva Systems Inc. (VEEV - Free Report) , DaVita Inc. (DVA - Free Report) and Baxter International Inc. (BAX - Free Report) , each currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Veeva Systems’ long-term earnings growth rate is estimated at 15.8%.

DaVita’s long-term earnings growth rate is estimated at 14.4%.

Baxter International’s long-term earnings growth rate is projected at 9.3%.

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