ResMed Rests Easy

Shareholders of ResMed (NYSE: RMD) probably slept better last night, after the medical device maker reported a healthy Q4. Pro forma earnings per share totaled $0.41, up by a penny year over year, on a 12% increase in revenue.

ResMed produces and markets various devices for screening and treating patients suffering from sleep and respiratory disorders. The specialized sleep therapy market has been growing increasingly lucrative since ResMed's IPO in mid-1995. In the past five years alone, shares of ResMed have appreciated 250%. Shares of competitor Respironics (Nasdaq: RESP) have appreciated approximately 200% in the same period.

In its most recent quarter, ResMed benefited from 10% sales growth in its Americas segment, and 14% sales growth in all other regions. The company also continued to expand sales of its Adapt SV device, specifically designed to treat central sleep apnea (difficulty breathing during sleep).

Is now a good time to buy into ResMed? The company appears to have overcome the resistance that its stock faced upon a voluntary product recall in April, and it plans to launch a number of new products in its mask and flow-generator segments in the upcoming quarters. ResMed has also received a warm response to its newly launched full-face masks. If these initiatives continue to gain steam, and ResMed maintains its historically strong gross margin, I think a return to the 52-week high it posted last February might not be beyond investors' wildest dreams.

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Fool contributor Billy Fisher does not own shares of any of the companies mentioned. The Fool's disclosure policy performs sheep-based calculations nightly.