10/24 02:23 EST
在经济停滞阶段，投资者往往会慎重考虑高价资本设备的开支，这当然会影响到医疗设备类股的涨跌。作为医疗设备制造商的Nu Vasive(代號:NUVA) 就是拴在这条线上的蚂蚱。尽管这很不公平，因为公司多数销售额来自小型伤口清理工具和器官嫁接，主要适用于侧面和后部入侵伤口最小化的融合手术，多数是由专业医生采用的。分析师表示经济低迷对于背部手术的影响并不大，饱受疼痛侵扰的病人是不会因经济低迷而终止治疗过程的。分析师表示：“当病人决定接受脊椎治疗之时，他们所忍受的疼痛超越了经济衰退带来的影响。”
Nu Vasive上个季度销售额同比增长了50-65%，在本周三收盘后，公司发布了三季度营收同比上涨了73.7%至6690万美元。公司提高08年业绩预测，预测营收将达到2.45-2.47亿美元。尽管销售额并没有取得20%以上的增长，利润则另当别论。由于公司不断对新产品、新技术和外科手术教育进行大量投资，因此仍将出现斥资。三季度公司每股亏损0.21美元，研发投资以及其他成本达到1670万美元。包括研发收费以及一次性收费在内促进公司每股收益增长0.04美元，分析师预计为0.01美元。
但是，公司预测08年每股收益将因此增长0.05-0.07美元，这将是公司首次获得盈利。Thomson Reuters分析师预测09年每股收益为0.46美元。尽管公司算不上是高资本器械生产商，NuVasive的绕开神经手术导航软件系统可谓是价值不菲。这项导航系统能够最大程度上完善脊柱融合手术，能够令神经受损最小化，因此为医院和医疗单位的所青睐。这项技术大大促进了伤口清理产品的销售额增长。每一个疗程能创造1,300至1,700美元的收益。
外科手术设备平均销售额达到500-900美元，植入式生物制剂的每个疗程的利润就更高了，约为11K美元。传奇般的侧面疗程包括在患者侧身开一个小口，而非在背部开一个大口。患因此恢复期往往比普通患者要短。随着越来越多医生开始就此进行培训，公司的营收将出现大幅增长。目前已经有2，000名外科医生就侧面手术接收了培训。
公司目前已经推出的300多件新产品也在促进销售额增长，以及营收的增长。公司本周三宣布将扩展产品组合，并进行相应市场推广，预计将推动明年的营收上涨 40% 。推动新产品线扩展的一个关键因素就是公司今年七月进行的收购战略，收购了生物制剂生产商Osteocel，后者主要生产适用于脊柱手术中的骨髓嫁接仪器。公司表示Osteocel将为09年的尖端生产线创造2800万美元营收。本季度Osteocel已经为公司创造了440万美元营收。公司预测随着生物制剂部门不断扩展，未来几年内的年营收将达到1亿美元。公司在本月引进了新一代神经回避系统——NeuroVision M5，也将创造巨大的营收。
NeuroVision M5作为最新的系统，能够使医生在手术过程中进一步对脊柱和脖颈部位的神经进行监测，最大程度上避免损伤神经。分析师表示：“NeuroVision M5的运用已经被荒废多年了，因此亟待更新换代。”公司的CEO Alex Lukianov表示，这项新系统将被赋予更新的理念和特点。
而在价值70亿美元的世界脊柱医疗市场中，竞争已经愈演愈烈，Medtronic(代號:MDT)的Sofamor Danek产品就占据50%以上市场份额的巨头。另一个行业巨头包括Johnson & Johnson (代號:JNJ)的DePuy，以及Stryker(代號:SYK)。分析师表示NuVasive占据6%的美国市场份额，几乎所有的销售都是针对美国市场的。但是公司将在未来几年中进行市场扩展，包括欧洲和亚洲。三季度公司在一项产品诉讼中赔偿了600K美元，分析师预计四季度的诉讼开支将达到400万美元，09年将达到500万美元。
Investor's Business Daily
When In Pain, Back Surgery Doesn't Wait For Economic Recovery
Thursday October 23, 6:05 pm ET
Marilyn Alva In a stalled economy, investors might be rightfully concerned about weak spending for high-ticket capital gear. That's certainly been a concern for followers of medical-equipment stocks.
Some might lump medical-device maker NuVasive in that boat. That would be unfair.
Most of NuVasive's (NasdaqGS:NUVA - News) sales are from dozens of small disposal tools and grafts used to perform a minimally invasive lateral back-fusion surgery it developed with specialists.
Analysts say the economy doesn't much matter when it comes to back surgeries. People in pain don't want to put off procedures, and reimbursements don't stop when the economy does.
"By the time people make a decision to have this spine procedure, they are already in such pain it's not something they can delay for economics," said Joanne Wuensch, an analyst with BMO Capital Markets.
Big Sales Growth
NuVasive's year-over-year sales have grown 50% to 65% the last eight quarters.
On Wednesday after the market close, the firm reported that third-quarter revenue soared 73.7% from the earlier year to $66.9 million.
And it upped its 2008 revenue guidance to $245 million to $247 million from $238 million to $240 million earlier.
Though sales have been growing in double digits, profits are another story. Investments in new products, surgeon education, new sales reps and technology have kept the young company in the red.
NuVasive reported a 21-cent loss in the third quarter, citing $16.7 million in research and development costs and other expenses. Excluding the research charge and other one-time costs, NuVasive earned 4 cents a share. Analysts expected a profit of 1 cent a share.
However, it forecast full-year profit of 5 cents to 7 cents a share. It would be the first year of profits. Analysts tracked by Thomson Reuters estimate earnings of 46 cents in 2009.
Though it doesn't consider itself a big-ticket capital equipment company, NuVasive does make a costly software-driven nerve avoidance navigation system that enables surgeons to perform its unique spinal-fusion surgery.
The company gives those units away to hospitals to encourage them to adopt the minimally invasive procedure, since it helps spur sales for its disposable products.
Each procedure generates $1,300 to $1,700 from disposable products, the company says. Surgical instruments add $500 to $900.
The implants and biologics that are needed to complete each procedure generate even more -- almost $11,000 per procedure.
The novel lateral procedure involves making small incisions in a patient's side rather than larger ones in the back or front. Recovery time is shorter since surgeons don't have to cut into much muscle or bone, and costs are lower.
As more physicians are trained to perform the operation, NuVasive stands to gain added revenue. Almost 2,000 surgeons have been trained to perform the lateral surgery.
New products and a growing sales force -- now numbering 300 -- also help drive revenue growth, analysts say. The firm stated on Wednesday that an expanding product portfolio and geographic expansion will lead to revenue growth of nearly 40% next year.
One key new product line comes from the July acquisition of the biologics product line Osteocel -- bone-marrow grafts used in spine-fusion surgery. NuVasive said Osteocel would add $28 million to 2009's top line. Osteocel kicked in $4.4 million in the third quarter.
NuVasive expects its expanded biologics division to generate $100 million in revenue annually in the next several years.
NuVasive's introduction this month of a next-generation nerve-avoidance system -- NeuroVision M5 -- also will help generate new revenue, analysts say. The new system allows surgeons to navigate further up the spine to the neck area so that they can perform minimally invasive cervical procedures as well.
The M5 "is a big deal," said analyst Jose Haresco of Brean Murray Carret. "The NeuroVision has already been out a few years, and it needed an upgrade."
Chief Executive Alex Lukianov says the new system will be able to handle additional features as they are developed. "This moves us another three years ahead of our competitors," he said in a phone interview.
Competition in the $7 billion worldwide spine market is intense, dominated by Medtronic's (NYSE:MDT - News) Sofamor Danek, which has about 50% market share. Other larger players include Johnson & Johnson's (NYSE:JNJ - News) DePuy unit, Synthes and Stryker (NYSE:SYK - News).
Half-Price Sale
Lukianov says the Osteocel grafts give his firm an edge over medical-equipment giant Medtronic because they sell for about half the price of Medtronic's version.
Haresco wrote in a client note that smaller, more specialized players such as NuVasive and Kyphon have been taking market share from their bigger rivals.
Lukianov says NuVasive holds 6% market share in the U.S., up from about 4% last year. Almost all of NuVasive's sales are in the U.S., but Lukianov says the company plans to expand next year in key markets in Europe and Asia.
Meanwhile, some analysts are concerned over legal expenses from a patent infringement lawsuit brought by Medtronic on some of NuVasive's products.
In the third quarter, NuVasive spent $600,000 in legal expenses to defend itself and officials say they expect to spend $1 million in the fourth quarter and $4 million to $5 million in 2009.
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