St. Jude Receives Approval – Analyst Blog

St. Jude Medical Inc. (STJ) recently received the CE Mark approval to market its Trifecta valve in Europe. The Trifecta valve is a pericardial aortic stented tissue valve used to repair a patient’s diseased, damaged or malfunctioned aortic heart valve.

 

The valve has several features that make it the preferred choice for cardiac surgeons. The valve offers an excellent hemodynamic performance, or nearly unobstructed blood flow from the heart to the rest of the body. Available in different sizes, it gives surgeons the flexibility in choosing the appropriate replacement valve for each patient’s heart. 

 

The new approval expands St. Jude’s valve product portfolio, which already includes mechanical heart valves, valve annuloplasty rings and porcine tissue valves. This will in turn cater to the company’s overall top-line growth.

 

St. Jude reported strong financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal 2009. For the fourth quarter, earnings per share came in at 64 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 62 cents and the year-ago earnings of 58 cents.

 

In fiscal 2009, earnings per share were $2.43, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.42 and the year-ago earnings of $2.31. The company also witnessed an expansion in its top-line in both fourth quarter and fiscal 2009.

 

St. Jude Medical is a leading designer, manufacturer and distributor of medical devices used for treating cardiovascular and neurological conditions. The company’s closest competitors are Medtronic Inc. (MDT) and Boston Scientific Corporation (BSX).

 

St. Jude Medical is a leader in the mechanical heart valve market and has implanted mechanical heart valves in over 1.8 million patients worldwide.

 

Presently, we have a Neutral recommendation on St. Jude Medical.