Becton, Dickinson (BDX) At 52-Week High On New Launches

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) scaled a new 52-week high of $173.24 on Jul 7, eventually closing a tad bit lower at $173.17. This translates into an impressive one-year return of roughly 22.1%, significantly higher than the S&P 500 return of 2.27%.

This rally was driven by BD’s consistent earnings performance, innovative product pipeline, expanding product portfolio and increasing penetration in the emerging markets. Moreover, positive full-year 2016 is a key catalyst, in our view.

Notably, BD has beaten the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a positive average of 5.04% over the last four quarters.

This Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock has a market cap of around $36.51 billion while average volume of shares traded over the last three months is roughly 947.3K.

Key Growth Factors

BD’s innovative product pipeline is a key growth driver. A vast array of regulatory approvals both in the U.S and International markets is assisting the company to rapidly expand its product portfolio.

BD recently launched its newest cell sorter, the BD FACSMelody system. The new system follows latest BD flow cytometers such as the BD Accuri C6 Plus and BD FACSCelesta systems.

BD also announced the receipt of CE marking for its BD MAX Vaginal Panel -- a new in-vitro diagnostic (IVD) assay. The new product expands BD’s reproductive and sexually transmitted Infections portfolio.

Moreover, the collaboration with Check-Points will drive demand for BD MAX assays that detect carbapenem-resistant organisms (CRO) in international markets. Both the companies also plan to develop and commercialize a next-generation CRO assay for launch outside the U.S. in 2017 and in the U.S. at a later time.

Further, the partnership with Central Admixture Pharmacy Services (CAPS) will allow BD Intelliport Medication Management System customers to buy a portfolio of frequently used CAPS' pre-filled anesthesia syringes.

We believe that this kind of partnerships and collaborations will provide BD a competitive edge, which will eventually boost its overall results. Although the Zacks Consensus Estimate for full-year 2016 has remained steady at $8.56 over the last 7 days, it reflects year-over-year growth of almost 19.6%.

Stocks to Consider

Better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are Derma Sciences (NASDAQ:DSCI) , Halyard Health (NYSE:HYH) and Abiomed (NASDAQ:ABMD) . All three stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).