medtech stocks
(From Ishant Mishra on Unsplash)

In another roller coaster year for medtech, these are the companies that saw their stock rise and fall the most drastically.

The MassDevice MedTech 100 Index, which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies, reflects the performance of many in the medtech space.

In a tough year for a lot of businesses, the Index wasn’t immune to struggles. Overall, it dropped 27.3% from this time last year. That compares to a 19.7% drop for the S&P 500 and an 8.9% dip for the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Some businesses, though, powered through the supply chain- and inflation-related woes to see their stock rise from this time last year. Others weren’t so lucky. Here are some of the biggest gainers and losers — selected from the MedTech 100 Index — of 2022.

Biggest gainers

BD — $245.27 to $254.97 — Up 4% 

While BD (NYSE:BDX) didn’t have the most significant growth, its stock remains in a better place than this time last year. In a year in which many competitors saw their stock dip, the company sustained growth throughout 2022.

BD finished the year with nearly $18.9 billion in revenues. It registered profits of $1.7 billion. Its fourth-quarter performance to end the year beat Wall Street expectations and demonstrated growth in the company’s medical segment.

Other BD business highlights this year include the appointment of a new medical segment president and the successful spinoff of its diabetes business.

Cardinal Health — $51.36 to $79.57 — Up 39.3% 

Despite supply chain-related headwinds hampering companies across medtech, one of the giants powered through.

Cardinal Health managed to make massive gains in 2022, most recently topping Street expectations in the first quarter. The company brought in $49.6 billion in revenues, turning a $110 million profit. The company also saw “tangible progress” for its medical segment.

Other highlights in 2022 for Cardinal Health include a new figure in the corner office. The company promoted CFO Jason Hollar to CEO in September. The company also began delivering drugs and medical supplies via zipline drone in 2022.

Haemonetics — $53.11 to $78.72 — Up 48.2%

The hematology device maker made impressive strides in 2022. Of the Big 100 medtech companies, its stock price rise represents the largest from 2021.

Haemonetics’ (NYSE:HAE) final quarter of calendar 2022 featured a Street-beating $261.5 million revenue total. The company also recorded $19.9 million in profits. CEO Chris Simon attributed the performance to resilient manufacturing and supply enabled, plus the company’s cash allocation strategy.

Among the 2022 highlights for Haemonetics was a move to a new manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania.

Insulet: — $272.76 to $292.63 — Up 7.3%

Insulet (Nasdaq:PODD) had a hot start to 2022 when it received FDA clearance for its next-generation Omnipod 5. A subsequent full launch and further regulatory nods for the automated insulin delivery system continued the year’s progress.

Investors could have been spooked when CEO Shacey Petrovic abruptly stepped down in May. However, former ResMed executive Jim Hollingshead kept the ship steady since taking over. The company also received a big stock boost in November when it posted Street-beating third-quarter results.

Johnson & Johnson — $169.67 to $177.63 — Up 4.7%

If Johnson & Johnson’s (NYSE:JNJ) most recent quarterly results give any indication, its MedTech business is moving in the right direction. J&J MedTech posted sales of nearly $6.8 billion for a 2.1% improvement over this time last year in the third quarter.

The biggest business move made by J&J in 2022 came in the form of a $16.6 billion acquisition of heart pump maker Abiomed. It also initiated a $5 billion share repurchase for its common stock in September.

Johnson & Johnson also continued to move along in the hot space of surgical robotics, forming a partnership with CMR surgical.

Merit Medical — $64 to $70.58 — Up 10.3%

Merit Medical Systems’ (Nasdaq:MMSI) 2022 consisted of a number of regulatory nods and product launches.

Those nods include an FDA breakthrough nod for knee osteoarthritis-treating microspheres and FDA clearance for a breast localization system. It launched a pulmonary balloon dilator, a guide sheath, a soft tissue biopsy system and a radial compression device.

Financial results included a Street-beating revenue total of $287.2 million in its most recent quarter.

ShockWave Medical — $179.46 to $209.59 — Up 16.8%

A company that continues to increase revenues is likely to attract attention in the stock market. That was certainly the case for ShockWave Medical (Nasdaq:SWAV). ShockWave develops proprietary cardiovascular disease treatment tech involving local delivery of sonic pressure.

Each of its financial reports in 2022 demonstrated monstrous sales growth. In February, fourth-quarter (fiscal 2021) sales came in 270% ahead of the previous year’s output. The first quarter of 2022 saw 193% sales growth year over year, and the company also increased sales by 101% in the third quarter.

Santa Clara, California-based ShockWave increased its full-year guidance to a range between $483 million and $488 million based on its consistently improving performance.

Silk Road Medical — $44.63 to $53.08 — Up 18.9%

Sunnyvale, California-based stroke treatment tech developer Silk Road Medical (Nasdaq:SILK) is another company that saw its stock rise as its revenues did.

Solid growth early in the year was followed by 51.3% growth in its most recently reported quarter. The company also proposed a $100 million offering of its common stock in October.

Biggest losers

Align Technology — $661.07 to $203.52 — Down 69.2%

Align Technology (Nasdaq:ALGN) looked poised for a big 2022. It ended the 2021 calendar year on the up with record-breaking revenues. The dental technology maker also received a stock bump from a $200 million buyback program.

However, a number of hindrances reared their head in 2022. The company settled a five-year legal dispute with Denmark-based dental scanner and software maker 3Shape. Then its third-quarter results came in well behind the consensus forecast.

Align attributed its struggles to continued macroeconomic uncertainty and weaker consumer confidence. It also cited the impact of unfavorable foreign exchange rates across all currencies.

Edwards Lifesciences — $130.58 to $73.54 — Down 43.7%

Edwards (NYSE:EW) topped consensus estimates in the first quarter of 2022 but struggled to repeat that feat. The company missed projections in the second quarter and slashed its guidance amid foreign exchange headwinds and hospital staffing challenges.

Shares took a further hit on third-quarter misses. The company cited persistent U.S. hospital staffing shortages and COVID headwinds in Japan for those results. It also suspected persistent U.S. hospital staffing challenges and a strong U.S. dollar.

Some of the biggest business news for Edwards in 2022 included a $750 million share repurchase program and the retirement of longtime CEO Mike Mussallem.

Philips — $36.53 to $14.95 — Down 59.1%

The seemingly never-ending effects of the massive Philips Respironics recall dominated 2022 for Royal Philips (NYSE:PHG). Issues stemming from the recall no doubt played their part in the company’s steep stock decline.

Philips’ recall dates back to 2021, but issues continued to pile up more than a year later. The most recent update, issued by the FDA last month, said the agency received more than 90,000 reports of problems. That includes 260 reports mentioning death. Philips says testing showed that some of its recalled devices are “unlikely to result in appreciable harm to health in patients.”

To add to Philips’ woes, the company issued a separate recall for CPAP or BiPAP therapy masks with magnetic headgear clips or straps. The devices could negatively interact with implantable, metallic medical devices. On top of it all, in October, the company announced plans to cut its workforce by 4,000.

Masimo — $294.72 to $145.90 — Down 50.5%

In the early stages of the year, Masimo (Nasdaq:MASI) battled through some difficult circumstances to still top expectations. The company said it registered strong demand for its products despite “unexpected supply chain challenges.”

Those challenges continued to arrive, though, and the company’s stock took a hit over the year as a result. Like many other medtech companies, supply chain problems and the strong dollar impacted Masimo’s performance. Inflation and healthcare staffing shortages played their part, too. In the third quarter, Masimo had to slightly narrow its guidance as a result.

Still, Masimo produced a handful of intriguing product launches in 2022. That included a software upgrade enabling millions of high-end home entertainment systems to collect, share and display health information.

Nevro — $84.83 to 39.15 — Down 53.8%

Nevro (NYSE:NVRO) represents a curious case.

The majority of the spinal cord stimulation company’s 2022 news fell on the positive side. One coverage decision from United Healthcare, excluding spinal cord stimulation, was negative — but likely didn’t contribute to such a large fall. However, the company didn’t turn a profit over 12 months and its revenues are down. That may have spooked investors.

Still, good news included an $85 million patent spat payout from Boston Scientific and other coverage wins for spinal cord stimulation.

Outset Medical — $46.51 to $24.52 — Down 47.3%

Outset Medical (Nasdaq:OM) had a topsy-turvy 2022. In June, the company announced a hold on shipments of its Tablo hemodialysis system for home use. This came as a result of a pending FDA review and clearance of a 510(k) submitted for changes made since Tablo’s original March 2020 clearance.

There was a major stock boost when shipments resumed. Shares dipped as low as the mid-teens as recently as November. However, they are on the rebound.

Outset’s most recent quarterly results topped expectations and sent its stock up. Additionally, Deloitte named it among its fastest-growing companies in 2022.

Owens & Minor — $44.04 to $19.66 — Down 55.4%

Owens & Minor (NYSE:OMI) began the year with a $1.6 billion acquisition. That may have indicated a strong year ahead, but the company’s earnings reports reflected some significant struggles.

The company’s second quarter saw a revised outlook amid macroeconomic headwinds. That contributed to a big stock dip, with shares trading around $32 apiece.

In October, the big swing arrived. Owens & Minor lowered its 2022 guidance due to continued macroeconomic headwinds. OMI shares dropped more than 31% to $15.82 apiece that day. Though it has slowly climbed since, the company’s share price remains a long way away from where it sat at the start of 2022.

ZimVie — $25.53 to $8.22 — Down 67.8%

The Zimmer Biomet dental and spine spinoff set reasonable expectations at the start of its time as a standalone business. That included projecting flat revenues for 2022. Despite this, investors still seemingly dropped ZimVie (Nasdaq:ZIMV) stock throughout the year.

Shares took a big hit in August when ZimVie saw declining revenues and growing losses in the second quarter. The company attributed struggles to a plan to streamline its business. That included pulling out of countries that had proved unprofitable. It also discontinued some spine products and faced issues on the dental side from the strong dollar.

ZIMV stock fell as far as below $7 in October but has since slowly risen. The company got a boost when it reported third-quarter results, sticking by its full-year guidance.

Stock prices for each company were taken at market close on Dec. 27, 2021, and Dec. 27, 2022.