Wednesday, April 20, 2011

St. Jude Medical (STJ) Earnings Drop Ends Streak

Shares of St. Jude Medical (NYSE:STJ) are trading strong even after a disappointing quarter where net income for St. Jude Medical, Inc. was down to $233.4 million, or 71 cents a share, vs. $238.6 million, or 73 cents a share last year in the same quarter, a decline of 2.2 percent.

Revenue jumped for the quarter, rising 9 percent to $1.38 billion.

St. Jude Medical missed on the average analyst estimate of 78 cents a share. Estimates ranged from 77 cents a share to 80 cents a share.

St. Jude Medical Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel J. Starks said, “During the first quarter, we continued to make good progress in developing the new growth drivers we need to return to double-digit sales growth on a sustainable basis. Our gross margin has strengthened, we have continued to invest in research and development at an elevated rate, and our sales and earnings growth outlook have both improved. We are off to a good start making 2011 another very successful year for St. Jude Medical.”

Major competitors of St. Jude Medical include Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE:MDT), Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX), Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), and Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (NYSE:EW).

St. Jude Medical was trading at $52.75, gaining $1.75, or 3.43 percent, as of 1:22 PM EDT.

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