Becton (BDX) To Expand Syringe Capacity At Holdrege Facility

Leading global medical technology company Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) announced that it is expanding capacity at its Holdrege, NE facility. The capacity expansion would cost $100 million and be directed toward insulin syringe manufacturing operations. The company already produces more than two billion insulin syringes annually. This averages to production of more than 250,000 syringes per hour.

BD began operations in Holdrege in 1966 in a 12,000-square-foot building with 66 associates. Gradually, the facility has grown to 350,000 square feet with more than 650 associates manufacturing 20 different products.

Based in Franklin Lakes, NJ, Becton, Dickinson, popularly known as BD, is a medical technology company engaged principally in the development, manufacture and sale of medical devices, instrument systems and reagents.

An innovative product pipeline is the key growth driver at BD. A huge number of regulatory approvals both in the U.S. and international markets are facilitating expansion of the company’s product portfolio. The company also has a partnership with Central Admixture Pharmacy Services (CAPS) under which BD Intelliport Medication Management System customers will be allowed to buy a portfolio of the frequently used CAPS pre-filled anesthesia syringes.

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We believe that such partnerships and collaborations will lend BD a competitive edge and eventually boost its overall results. Although the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the full year has remained unchanged at $8.56 over the last seven days, it reflects year-over-year growth of almost 19.6%.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Currently, BD carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked stocks in the medical sector include GW Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:GWPH) , NuVasive, Inc. (NASDAQ:NUVA) and Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

GW Pharmaceuticals consistently surpassed expectations in the last four quarters, with an average positive surprise of 41.67%. This represents an impressive year-to-date return of approximately 58.1%, better than the S&P 500’s 6.5% over the same period.

NuVasive also has a steady record in beating earnings expectations over the last four quarters, with an average positive surprise of 18.98%. This represents an impressive year-to-date return of approximately 25.78%, better than the S&P 500’s 6.5% over the same period.

Finally, Baxter International also surpassed expectations in each of the last four quarters, with an average positive surprise of 30.55%. This represents an impressive year-to-date return of approximately 26.34%, better than the S&P 500’s 6.5% over the same period. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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