Cardiovascular Systems At 52-Week High On Huge Prospects

Share price of St Paul, MN-based Cardiovascular Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSII) reached a new 52-week high of $26.45 on Nov 15, eventually closing a tad lower at $26.34. The company gained 84.32% over the past year, much better than the S&P 500’s 6.34% over the same period. It has added roughly 74.21% year to date compared to the S&P 500’s 6.68%.

Meanwhile, we note that Cardiovascular Systems carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The stock has a market cap of $870.88 million.

The company is an attractive growth stock with an impressive one-year projected earnings growth rate of 90.60% as compared to the industry’s average of 7.80%.

Estimate revision trend for the company also looks pretty favorable at the moment. In the past 60 days, four estimates have gone up with no downward revision. The trend has been quite favorable with estimates improving from a loss of 15 cents a share to a loss of 6 cents in the past 60 days.

The company’s current year figures also hold promise, with five estimates moving higher over the past two months with no downward revision. The consensus estimate trend has also been encouraging over the same time period, narrowing from a loss of 56 cents per share to a loss of 16 cents over the last 60 days.

We note that in the last reported first quarter 2017, Cardiovascular Systems reported a loss of 6 cents per share, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 18 cents. The four-quarter average earning surprise is a positive 31.81%.

The company also has an impressive Growth Style Score of A. Our Growth Style Score highlights all the vital metrics of the company’s financials to obtain a true picture of the quality and sustainability of its growth. Our research shows that stocks with Style Scores of ‘A’ or ‘B’ when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) offer the best investment opportunities.

Growth Catalysts

Cardiovascular Systems continues to grow strongly on the back of providing medical evidence to the physician community. Recently, it presented the 30-day favorable results from its LIBERTY 360° study in a late-breaking presentation at the 2016 Amputation Prevention Symposium (AMP) in Chicago.

The results demonstrated high rates of procedural lesion treatment success and freedom from MAE, as well as quality of life improvements, across all Rutherford classes. Also, Cardiovascular Systems initiates largest randomized trial to study Coronary Atherectomy for calcified coronary lesions at Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics Conference. All these can be considered to be important milestones delivered by the company.

The market is also upbeat since the company’s release of impressive first-quarter 2017 results. Revenues rose 14% to $49.8 million from the prior-year quarter, also coming in above the company’s guided range. The upside in revenues can also be attributed to the strength in the coronary and peripheral segments.The quarterly net loss of $1.9 million was also better than estimated, driven by strong revenue, improved gross margin and lower operating expenses. As per management, the results marked the third consecutive quarter of financial improvement, demonstrating significant progress toward its goal of driving revenues.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Cardiovascular Systems currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Better-ranked medical stocks are Nxstage Medical Inc. (NASDAQ:NXTM) , Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) and Bovie Medical Corp. (NYSE:BVX) . Nxstage Medical and Baxter sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) while Bovie Medical carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Nxstage Medical surged 35.4% over one year compared to the S&P 500’s 6.3% over the same period. The company has a four-quarter average positive earnings surprise of 50.00%.

Baxter International rallied 21.9% in the past one year, comparing favorably with the S&P 500’s 6.3%. It has a trailing four-quarter average positive earnings surprise of 27%.

Bovie Medical recorded a 124.2% gain in the past one year, way better than the S&P 500’s 6.3%. The company has a trailing four-quarter average positive earnings surprise of 28.7%.

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