Medical device makers close 2024 with mixed stock performances

Edwards Lifesciences

31/12/2024 18:40

** Medical device makers continued to see healthy demand for
non-urgent surgeries in 2024, especially among older Americans,
leading to higher investor expectations from the companies,
which resulted in mixed share moves 
    ** Continuous glucose monitoring device makers Dexcom
 DXCM.O , Abbott  ABT.N  and Medtronic  MDT.N  have benefited
from increasing diabetes care awareness, wider insurance
coverage and preference for devices that do not need finger
pricks
    ** ABT has grown 2.3% this year, whereas MDT and DXCM lost
3.5% and 37.3%, respectively 
    ** Boston Scientific  BSX.N , which has grown 54.6% this
year, has been seeing robust demand for its heart devices,
giving competition to its smaller peer Edwards Lifesciences
 EW.N , whose stock has dropped 2.8% 
    ** Other device makers such as Intuitive Surgical  ISRG.O 
and Stryker  SYK.N  have risen 54.4% and 20%, respectively, this
year, whereas Baxter  BAX.N , which faced Hurricane
Helene-related disruptions at its North Carolina IV solutions
facility, fell 25.2%
    ** RBC Capital Markets analyst Shagun Singh projects a
positive momentum for the sector in 2025, attributing the
anticipated growth to the pro-business policies likely to be
implemented under a prospective Trump presidency
    ** The S&P 500 Health Care Equipment & Supplies  .SPLRCHCEQ 
has risen 9.6% this year

 (Reporting by Puyaan Singh)
 ((Puyaan.Singh@thomsonreuters.com;))