Stryker (SYK) Posts Upbeat Preliminary Sales Figure For Q4

Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) recently announced encouraging preliminary net sales results for fourth-quarter 2017 and full-year 2017. The company is scheduled to report fourth-quarter 2017 results on Jan 30, 2018.

The company expects preliminary net sales to improve 8.7% year over year at constant exchange rate (CER) to $3.5 billion, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.43 billion.

In fourth-quarter 2017, the Orthopaedics segment is expected to see a 6.8% hike in revenues at CER. MedSurg and Neurotechnology and Spine segments are expected to see revenue growth of 9.8% and 10.3%, respectively, at CER.

For 2017, net sales are estimated at $12.4 billion, up 9.8% from the year-ago quarter on a constant currency basis, higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $12.38 billion.

For 2017, the Orthopaedics segment is expected to generate higher revenues by 6.5%. MedSurg and Neurotechnology and Spine segments are expected to see revenue growth of 13.4% and 8.3%, respectively, at CER.

Domestic net sales of $2.5 billion and $9.1 billion increased 9.3% and 10.1%, respectively, as reported in the fourth quarter and full-year 2017.
International net sales of $1.0 billion and $3.4 billion increased 11.7% and 9.4% as reported in the fourth quarter and full-year 2017. At constant currency, international net sales improved 7.3% and 9.0% for fourth quarter and 2017, respectively.

Per management, in the fourth quarter, 65% of the systems of Stryker were upgraded to the Mako Total Knee application. The continued momentum contributed to net sales at the Orthopaedics segment.

2018 Outlook

With the U.S. tax reform, the company anticipates a modest headwind to affect its business in 2018. However, it expects to gradually overcome this through the financial year.

Shares Shine Bright

Stryker has had a solid run on the bourses over the last year. The stock has returned 29%, higher than the industry’s return of 23.2%, over the same time frame.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Stryker carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are, Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) , Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) and Molina Healthcare Inc. (NYSE:MOH) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank Stocks Here.

Bio-Rad has an expected growth rate of a whopping 141.5% for the first quarter of 2018. Over the last year, the stock has gained 34.8%, surpassing the broader industry.

Centene has an expected long-term growth rate of 14%. The stock’s performance on the bourses has been solid over the last year, with a return of 70.3%.

For 2018, Molina Healthcare has a solid projected growth rate of 178.6%. In the last three months, the stock has rallied 37.8%, higher than the industry’s gain of 18.6%.

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