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4 Critical Care Device Stocks to Deflect the COVID-19 Curveball

Published 04/09/2021, 08:00 AM
Updated 07/09/2023, 06:31 AM

President Joe Biden administration’s $1.9-trillion financial stimulus sanctioned last month as part of the broader Build Back Better agenda has provided significant funding for COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics. Analyst sentiments surrounding healthcare and MedTech stocks in particular got a major boost after a White House briefing stated that the stimulus will be providing nearly $10 billion to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to expand access to vaccines and better serve the underserved communities in the COVID-19 response.

Additionally, the Community Health (NYSE:CYH) Centers are being actively backed by the administration via the rescue package to provide preventive and primary health care services to people at higher risk of COVID-19.

Notably, the administration announced a new partnership with dialysis clinics to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to such patients, which can be categorized as a critical care industry under the broader MedTech sector.

Critical Care Equipment Sustains Solid Run

The critical care industry under the MedTech sector came into limelight with the coronavirus outbreak in 2020. With the continued spread of the virus along with the emergence of new strains, it seems that the boost to critical care is here to stay, at least for the next few months. Critical care encompasses a variety of sub-industries like respiratory, renal and cardiovascular care. With the surge in respiratory complications due to COVID-19 infections, respiratory care gained a significant boost. Other sub-industries, being partly non-elective, also held ground amid the pandemic-led challenging business environment.

Market watchers are optimistic about renowned respiratory care provider ResMed Inc.’s RMD re-run of its stupendous performance during the pandemic on the back of the relentless spread of infections. The company had significantly ramped up ventilator and mask production to meet the robust demand for critical care. Provision of digital health solutions and other tools to customers aiding remote care amid the pandemic looks encouraging. Over the past six months, this stock has risen 11.2% compared with the industry’s 4.5% rise.

What’s Working for Critical Care Stocks?

Given that the pandemic is here to stay for the next few months, these companies are expected to significantly ramp up performance to match the current demand for critical care. This, in turn, signals solid long-term growth potential for these companies. Under such scenarios, it will be prudent for investors to turn their attention to such stocks for long-term benefits.

4 Stocks to Focus on

Given the current scenario, companies which can address the increasing demand for critical care products like ventilators amid the coronavirus pandemic are poised to grow. Listed below are four companies that investors can keep an eye on during the grim economic scenario.

Our first pick is renowned provider of infection prevention products and services in the healthcare market, Cantel Medical (NYSE:CMD) Corp. CMD. This Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company reported second-quarter fiscal 2021 results in March, where its Dialysis segment reported robust sales despite pandemic-led business challenges. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Its projected earnings per share (EPS) growth stands at a solid 65.1% compared with the industry’s projection of 27.9%. Over the past six months, the stock has gained 76.7% against the industry’s 2.1% fall.

The next stock that investors can take a look at is renowned global medical device provider Hill-Rom (NYSE:HRC) Holdings, Inc. HRC. The Zacks Rank #2 company has been seeing sharp recovery in emerging market sales over the past few months. During the first quarter of fiscal 2021, the company saw rising demand for bed rentals and several Front Line Care products along with sequential recovery in the Patient Support Systems arm.

Its historical EPS growth stands at 15.8% compared with the industry’s projection of 5%. Over the past six months, the stock has gained 21.5% compared with the industry’s 4.5% rise.

LeMaitre Vascular, Inc. LMAT, a well-known global provider of medical devices and human tissue cryopreservation services, is our next pick. The Zacks Rank #2 company posted solid fourth-quarter 2020 results in February amid challenging business conditions. Its growth across all major geographies along with robust sales of biologic grafts, valvulotomes and embolectomy catheters amid the pandemic-induced challenges is impressive.

Its historical EPS growth stands at 15.3% compared with the industry’s projection of 5%. Over the past six months, the stock has gained 51.2% compared with the industry’s 4.5% rise.

The final stock which investors can consider is renowned non-invasive monitoring systems provider, Masimo (NASDAQ:MASI) Corporation MASI. The Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company received CE Mark for its Rad-G with Temperature in March, which is a handheld device offering Signal Extraction Technology (SET) pulse oximetry, respiration rate from the pleth and other key parameters along with clinical-grade non-contact infrared thermometry. In February, the company made the full commercial release of SafetyNet-OPEN, a web and mobile-based app solution that enables screening, tracking and managing users as they battle COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.

Its historical EPS growth stands at 19.3% compared with the industry’s projection of 8.7%. Over the past six months, the stock has gained 1.9% against the industry’s 2.1% fall.

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