Why Is Cooper Companies (COO) Up 7.9% Since The Last Earnings Report?

It has been about a month since the last earnings report for The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NYSE:COO) . Shares have added about 7.9% in the past month, outperforming the market.

Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to the stock's next earnings release, or is it due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.

The Cooper Companies Beats Earnings Estimates in Q2

The Cooper Companies Inc. (COO) reported adjusted earnings of $2.50 in second-quarter fiscal 2017, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by $0.25 and improving from $2.05 in the year-ago quarter. We believe that the upside was driven by robust revenue growth.

Revenues increased to $522.4 million from $483.8 million recorded in the prior-year quarter. This also came above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $520 million.

Revenue Segments

The Cooper Companies has two business segments – CooperVision (CVI) and CooperSurgical (CSI).

CooperVision Segment: CVI revenues increased 4% to $408.5 million on a year-over-year basis.

Coming to the major growth catalysts within the CVI segment, robust performance by Toric (32% of CVI revenues), Multifocal (10% of CVI revenues) and Single-use sphere lenses (26% of CVI revenues) propelled solid growth.

Multifocal revenues rose 4% to $42.9 million, while Toric revenues increased 12% to $131.8 million on a year-over-year basis. Single-use sphere lenses sales climbed 10% to $104.1 million, while sales of non single-use sphere lenses climbed 2% to $129.7 million year over year.

Geographically, CVI revenues increased 4% in the Americas, while revenues from Asia Pacific surged 9% year over year.

CooperSurgical Segment: CSI revenues jumped 23% to $113.9 million on a year-over-year basis.

Coming to the CSI segment, the fertility category witnessed a 5% rise in sales in the reported quarter on a year-over-year basis, totaling $61.2 million. However, the office and surgical products category at the CSI segment rose only 1% to $52.7 million.

Margin Details

Adjusted gross margin in the reported quarter was 66.0% of revenues as compared with 63.2% registered in the year-ago quarter. The gross margin improvement was fueled by favorable product mix within the CooperVision segment, courtesy of the company’s flagship Biofinity product line.

Adjusted operating margin, as a percentage of revenues, was 26.8% in the fiscal second quarter compared with 24.3% recorded in the prior-year quarter. The major reason behind the upside is the acquisition of Wallace, a division of Smiths Group (LON:SMIN).

Guidance

For fiscal 2017, total revenue is expected in the band of $2,110–$2,135 million.

Revenues at the CVI segment are estimated between $1,645 million and $1,665 million, while CSI revenues are projected in the range of $465–$470 million.

Meanwhile, adjusted earnings are anticipated in the band of $9.50–$9.65 per share compared with the previously provided $9.10–$9.30 range.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

Following the release, investors have witnessed an upward trend in fresh estimates. There have been eight revisions higher for the current quarter compared to two lower.

VGM Scores

At this time, Cooper Companies' stock has an average Growth Score of 'C', however its Momentum is doing a lot better with a 'A'. However, the stock was allocated a grade of 'C' on the value side, putting it in the middle 20% for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of 'C'. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Our style scores indicate that the stock is more suitable for momentum investors than growth and value investors.

Outlook

Estimates have been trending upward for the stock. The magnitude of these revisions also looks promising. It comes with little surprise that the stock has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). We are expecting an above average return from the stock in the next few months.