Haemonetics (HAE) Hits A 52-Week High On Solid Prospects

Share price of Braitree, MA-based Haemonetics Corporation (NYSE:HAE) reached a new 52-week high of $39.94 on Nov 25, finally closing a bit lower at $39.89. The company gained 23.7% year to date, much better than the S&P 500’s 8.3% over the same time frame. It has added roughly 23.3% over the past one year. Average volume of shares traded over the last three months was impressive at approximately 353.08K.

Meanwhile, we note that Haemonetics carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The stock has a market cap of $2.06 billion.

In the third quarter, Haemonetics posted earnings of 46 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 35 cents by 31.43%. The trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise is a positive 0.82%.

The company’s current year figures also hold promise, with six estimates moving higher over the past two months, compared to no downward revision. The consensus estimate trend has also been encouraging over the same time period, increasing from $1.44 per share to $1.49 over the last 60 days.

The company also has an impressive Growth Style Score of B. 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

Over the last three months, Haemonetics observed a steady increase in its share price. Particularly, the company posted impressive second-quarter fiscal 2017 results with respect to earnings and revenues which drove its share price 8.3% higher on Nov 25. The performance can be attributed to the progress in Harmonetics’ Plasma and Haemonetics Management segments. The company has also received positive customer response for its Cell Saver Elite software Version 7.0, which was launched in the second quarter.

Investors are particularly upbeat about Haemonetics’ recently adopted initiative to restructure its operations. This initiative will be carried out in three phases: stabilize, transform and accelerate. Management expects to initiate the stage two in the second half of fiscal 2017 wherein Haemonetics’ operations will be reorganized. The company will also focus on driving organic growth along with pursuing smaller, tuck-in acquisitions to augment its portfolio.

We are looking forward to the company’s recent initiatives to boost the top line at the Blood Center and Cell Processing franchises. Management is currently focusing on simplification of the product line and business footprint. The company also forecasts growth from key products in cell salvage and transfusion management.

Notably, The Medical Center of Plano Texas recently selected Haemonetics’ BloodTrack technology. The center plans to deploy BloodTrack within its Emergency Department (ED) for blood management at the time of emergency. In the recent quarterly report, Haemonetics reported growth of its BloodTrack and SafeTrace Tx products under the Hospital business segment. This marks the company’s progress in targeting hospitals with better blood supply chain, enhanced patient safety, advanced quality of medical care and lower costs.

Key Picks

Better-ranked medical stocks are NxStage Medical Inc. (NASDAQ:NXTM) , Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) and Bovie Medical Corporation (NYSE:BVX) . NxStage Medical and Baxter International 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 32.2% over the last one year compared to the S&P 500’s 5.9% over the same period. The company has a four-quarter average positive earnings surprise of 50.00%.

Baxter International rallied 23.9% over one year, much higher than the S&P 500’s 5.9%. It has a trailing four-quarter average positive earnings surprise of 27%.

Bovie Medical recorded a 119.4% gain in the past one year, way better than the S&P 500’s 5.9%. The company has a trailing four-quarter positive average earnings surprise of 28.7%.

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