Boston Scientific is benefiting from a rebound in medical procedures, an analyst said Tuesday after the medical giant topped first-quarter forecasts. BSX stock yo-yoed in response and ended up roughly flat.
On an organic basis, Boston Scientific's sales grew 14% to $3.39 billion. That was well above the company's guidance for 6%-8% organic sales growth, Evercore ISI analyst Vijay Kumar said in a note to clients. The company also earned an adjusted 47 cents per share, up 21% year over year.
Both measures beat expectations for $3.16 billion in sales and 43 cents earnings per share, according to FactSet.
"All in, these were solid results and reaffirms the medtech procedure rebound thesis," Kumar said.
On today's stock market, BSX stock closed at 51.10, roughly flat for the day. The Medical-Products industry group slipped less than 1%.
BSX Stock: Boosted Guidance
The increase in first-quarter sales comes after weekly Covid cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention peaked around 5.5 million in mid-January. Since then, there have been smaller waves under the 1 million mark, but cases have largely dropped off.
That paradigm shift has allowed hospitals to return to more normal procedure volumes, helping firms like Boston Scientific which sells pacemakers, heart-valve replacements, neuromodulation devices and other implantable technology.
Sales from Boston Scientific's cardiovascular unit grew 14.4% organically vs. Kumar's forecast for 9.6% growth. Medical-surgical sales advanced 13.4%, beating Kumar's view for 9.2% growth.
Kumar kept his outperform rating and 54 price target on BSX stock.
Organic Sales Growth Accelerating
For the year, Boston Scientific guided to 8%-10% organic sales growth, an increase from its prior view for 6%-8%. On a strict, as-reported basis, the company expects sales to grow 8.5%-10.5%, which would come out to $13.89 billion at the midpoint — just above analyst forecasts for $13.54 billion.
Boston Scientific also expects to earn an adjusted $1.90-$1.96 per share vs. analyst predictions for $1.91
BSX stock recently broke out of a flat base with a buy point at 48.97, according to MarketSmith.com. Investors are encouraged to take profits when a stock rises 20%-25% above its entry. That zone runs from 58.76-61.21 for Boston Scientific stock.
Follow Allison Gatlin on Twitter at @IBD_AGatlin.
