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Valued at a market cap of $133.6 billion, Boston Scientific Corporation (BSX) develops, manufactures, and markets medical devices for use in various interventional medical specialties. The Marlborough, Massachusetts-based company offers devices to diagnose and treat cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, oncological, neurological, and urological diseases and conditions.
Companies valued at $10 billion or more are generally described as “large-cap” stocks and Boston Scientific Corporation fits right into that category. The medical device company is known for providing a broad range of high-performance solutions that address unmet patient needs and reduce the cost of health care.
The healthcare company has marginally declined from its 52-week high of $91.93, achieved on Nov. 22. Shares of BSX have gained 10.6% over the past three months, outpacing the broader Dow Jones Industrials Average’s ($DOWI) 7.7% gains over the same time frame.
Moreover, in the longer term, BSX has rallied 56.4% on a YTD basis, easily eclipsing DOWI’s 18.8% returns. Shares of BSX have also skyrocketed nearly 61.1% over the past 52 weeks, significantly outperforming DOWI’s nearly 23.6% gains over the same time frame.
To confirm its bullish trend, BSX has been trading above its 200-day moving average for the past year and has also remained above its 50-day moving average since mid-August.
BSX’s outperformance over the past year can be primarily attributed to its differentiated portfolio, strategic acquisitions like Farapulse, its category leadership strategy, and robust operational execution
On Oct. 23, shares of BSX closed down marginally after its Q3 earnings release despite delivering a better-than-expected performance. The company’s adjusted earnings climbed 26% year-over-year to $0.63 per share and surpassed the Wall Street estimates of $0.58, while its revenue increased 19.3% from a year ago to $4.21 billion and outpaced the consensus estimates of $4.03 billion. The company benefited from strong growth across all of its segments.
However, the company’s announcement of pausing a trial of its Farapulse ablation system due to “a few unanticipated observations” in its earnings call might have lowered investor confidence and led to its marginal price dip.
Yet, BSX has significantly outpaced its rival, Medtronic plc (MDT), which gained nearly 5.1% on a YTD basis and 8.2% over the past 52 weeks.
As BSX outperformed the broader market recently, analysts remain strongly optimistic about its prospects. The stock has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” from the 27 analysts covering it, and the mean price target of $97.93 suggests a modest 8.3% premium to its current levels.
