What Drove Becton, Dickinson (BDX) To A New 52-Week High?

Share price of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) , based in Franklin Lakes, NJ, Becton, scaled a new 52-week high of $196.01 on Jun 27 and closed at $194.99. The company has gained 17.36% in the last six months, ahead of the S&P 500’s 10.67% gain. The stock has a market cap of $44.27 billion.

Comparison with Broader Industry

Almost throughout 2016, the company’s share price consistently outperformed the Zacks categorized Medical - Dental Supplies sub-industry. The stock has rallied 18.84% over this period, outshining the sub-industry’s gain of 15.52%. The company’s five-year historical growth rate is favorable at 10.10% as compared with 2.80% of the S&P 500 index.

Estimate Revision Trend

This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company’s estimate revision trend for the current year stands favorable. In the last 60 days, five estimates have moved up with one moving at the opposite direction. The magnitude of estimate revision over the same time period increased around 0.1% to $9.43 per share.

Catalysts

The market is upbeat about the strategic acquisitions and collaborations made by the company. In this regard, we note that Becton, Dickinson announced collaboration for its IMPRESS instrument management system with cloud-based solution provider, UniteOR's surgical tray tracking and vendor management solution. The system provides greater visibility of surgical tray management to health-care workers in the operating room and sterile processing department. This integration with UniteOR allows Becton, Dickinson to offer a truly integrated approach for complex challenges that hospitals and health systems face with regard to surgical tracking.

Becton, Dickinson has inked an agreement to acquire C.R. Bard Inc. (NYSE:BCR) . This deal will enhance Becton, Dickinson’s portfolio and offerings in high-growth areas. Per management, the company is on its way to become one of the biggest medical technology devices companies in the world with this buyout.

Also, the company recently completed the buyout of Israeli-based, global infusion pump systems manufacturer, Caesarea Medical Electronics.

Apart from the acquisitions and mergers, other catalysts include the company’s receipt of 510(k) clearance from the FDA for a flow cytometer system with a leucocount reagent assay, which is used in residual white blood cell enumeration.

Becton, Dickinson also announced the global distribution of a complete line of products for mass spectrometry that provides high-speed and high-confidence identification of pathogens in clinical laboratories. This is a critical first step in the fight against antimicrobial resistance. The company’s mass spectrometry solutions suite includes MBT Biotargets and MBT Sepsityper as well as standard reagents and other products.

Further, Becton, Dickinson’s focus on geographical expansion in overseas markets like India, China, Brazil and Turkey is boosting market’s sentiments for the share.

Key Picks

A few better-ranked stocks in the broader medical sector are Inogen Inc. (NASDAQ:INGN) and Luminex Corporation (NASDAQ:LMNX) . Notably, Inogen and Luminex both sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Inogen has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 17.50%. Notably, the stock represents an impressive one-year return of 99.5%.

Luminex has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 16.25%. Additionally, the stock represents an impressive one-year return of 20.3%.

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