Accuray Gains On Radixact Unit, Solid Geographical Foothold

Accuray Incorporated (ARAY) gains from strong demand for Radixact platform. Solid growth in European and APAC regions also holds promise. Lately, contributions in order performance from the EMEA and Japan regions have also been solid. The stock has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Radixact is one of the company’s latest devices, which contributed to revenues in the second quarter of fiscal 2018 results. The Radixact system comprised 70% of all TomoTherapy orders. More than 25 Radixact units have been recognized since the product launch.

Further, the system is being accepted as a true workhorse product in the market, courtesy of its significantly improved product performance, functional efficacies and broad case mix versatility.

Growing adoption of non-surgical treatment options, successful execution of restructuring plans and accretive acquisitions are other positives.

Recently, Accuray announced the launch of its precision treatment planning system. The system leverages on the company’s flagship Radixact and CyberKnife system platforms. The company plans to build on this technology with Precision 2.0 upgrade by fiscal 2018. This will significantly improve treatment speed and overall throughput of the existing CyberKnife system.

Accuray also announced 510(k) clearance for the new IBMS data management system for TomoTherapy. It is a centralized database that shares and makes data accessible between multiple accurate systems, adding flexibility and improving workflow efficiency in the radiation therapy department. Studies have proved that CyberKnife provides long-lasting pain relief procedures for Trigeminal Neuralgia patients.

Further, the Heidelberg University Hospital in Heidelberg, Germany and Oscar Lambret Cancer Center in Lille, France are the first in the world to connect with these two systems.

Dull Price Performance

In the past year, Accuray has underperformed its industry in terms of price performance.

The company’s shares have returned 8.7%, below the industry’s rally of almost 25.3%. Moreover, the current level compares unfavorably with the S&P 500 index’s 15.7% growth. We believe that cutthroat competition and dull international sales are the reasons for the downside.

Accuray Incorporated Price

Other Key Picks

A few other top-ranked stocks in the broader medical sector are PerkinElmer (NYSE:PKI) , Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) and athenahealth, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATHN) .

PerkinElmer has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 12.3%. The stock carries a Zacks Rank #2.

Bio-Rad Laboratories sports a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. The company has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 20%.

athenahealth is a Zacks #1 Ranked player. The company has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 21.5%.

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