So we’ve come to the end of the semester and as such, this will be my last entry. I’ll try to wrap up and summarize not only the major happenings in April, but what we’ve seen over the past 3 months.
One of the trends we saw in February and March was a decline in the stock price. Well, April seems to be a month of change! You’ll remember that last month, the stock closed at $14.79 (April 3). The closing price on April 30 was $15.44. Throughout the month, the stock seemed to rise somewhat steadily until the 16th (we’ll take a look at this shortly), then fluctuated some around the $15.50 – $16 area. While the stock price doesn’t seem to be stabilizing or be on a steady rise, it is a change from previous months.
The next question is what caused the huge increase in volume on the 16th and the stock price to fluctuate from $15.18 - $16.25 in one day? When reviewing the press releases on Boston Scientific’s website, there are little clues as to what could cause this kind of shift. However, one release from April 16 may hold part of the story. As mentioned in the release, restrictions were lifted that had resulted from deficiencies identified in one of Guidant’s CRM facilities. This news shows that Boston Scientific successfully implemented performance improvement initiatives and quality control systems at the facility. It also shows that Boston Scientific is committed to providing quality products to its customers. This can be cause for joy in the current and potential investors of a healthcare company which lives depend on quality.
In April, Boston Scientific released the first quarter financial reports. Sales for the quarter increased $.4 billion compared to the first quarter of the previous year. Other outcomes were favorable against the goals Boston Scientific had set. However, profits were down comparatively and the outlook by various analysts still doesn’t seem too positive. Check out this Forbes review of the first quarter results.
New, exciting news related to Boston Scientific’s products (DES, etc.) was limited. Given the results announced and the varying stock prices, it seems that the company has some work to do to get back to a stable operating environment where the company is looked upon positively in the industry. With the debt taken on for the Guidance acquisition, some negative or at least questionable press related to DES products, and poor performance in general, the company will need to rethink it’s strategy in order to make a change.
Keep an eye on them and let’s see if they can turn things around!
