Truist Securities Archives - Medical Design Sourcing

Intuitive details da Vinci 5 launch plans with limited supply of next-gen surgical robotics systems

Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci 5 is the device developer’s fifth-generation surgical robotics system. [Image courtesy of Intuitive Surgical]Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG) + is planning a phased launch of its da Vinci 5 that will stretch into next year, executives said today.

Intuitive won FDA 510(k) clearance for its next-generation surgical robotics system last week, nearly one decade after winning clearance for the da Vinci Xi system.

“We are planning for a limited launch starting in the U.S. as we optimize manufacturing and supply chains, and progressively expand our manufacturing capacity,” CFO Jamie Samath said. “We expect to be in this limited launch phase into 2025. During this period, we will be focused on customers that collaborated with us during the development period and those customers who have mature robotic programs and have a need to expand capacity.”

Others who…

Needham & Co. downgrades Medtronic, Zimmer Biomet shares

[Image from Unsplash]Needham & Co. senior research analyst Mike Matson today downgraded his rating of Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) and Zimmer Biomet (NYSE: ZBH) shares to Hold, while Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) got an upgrade to Buy.

MDT shares were down more than 1% to $97.98 apiece in morning trading, a day after Q4 earnings that missed The Street sent the medtech giant’s stock down more than 5%. ZBH shares were down slightly at $119.87 apiece, while BSX shares were up more than 2% at $41.15 apiece. MassDevice‘s MedTech 100 Index, which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies, was up more than 1%.

When it came to Medtronic, Matson said: “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

“MDT seems to have returned to its old pattern of poor execution and inconsistent results, and this is its third strike in our view, with the first being pipeline challenges (RDN and robotics) and the second bei…

Stryker sees pandemic sales effects softening

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) executives see hip and knee procedures growing in 2021, based on a trend that started in March and continued in April.

Such elective procedures were still sluggish in early 2021 due to the pandemic, but regional recovery from COVID-19 — particularly in the U.S. and Asia — bodes well for the company, CEO Kevin Lobo told analysts on the company’s first-quarter 2021 earnings call.

Stryker posted strong international sales of medical/surgical and sports medicine equipment compared with 2019, which Stryker execs chose for comparison purposes rather than 2020. The company also had double-digit organic growth (12.8%) in its interventional spine and neurotech businesses.

Sales of Stryker’s Mako robotic systems had a “banner” first quarter, Lobo said on the call, transcribed by Seeking Alpha, following similar positive results in Q4 2020. Mako sales lifted “other ortho” U.S. sales by 49% in the U.S. Stryker h…

DTW Podcast: Truist’s Kaila Krum says Medtronic prepping for growth

In an interview with DeviceTalks Weekly Podcast, Truist Securities managing director Kaila Krum says Medtronic executives are retooling the company to keep pace with smaller, more focused competitors.

Breaking down the company’s Q1 call, Krum says Medtronic is seen as a company that’s too big to grow market share quickly. On the call, new CEO Geoff Martha emphasized gaining market share at one point telling investors the company would “go big or go home.”

Krum says Medtronic will pour resources into several critical areas to drive growth including soft tissue robotics, diabetes, and renal denervation.

“At a time when a lot of companies right now are forced to pull back on spending, Medtronic has been in a position where it can flex its balance sheet,” Krum said. “So they’ve been talking about investing in the pipeline, investing in structural, operational and cultural changes. I think all of that combined should support their growth goals over the …