A Big Upgrade for Cytori Therapeutics

• Email
• Share
• Print

Every day, the sun rises on Wall Street, and a plethora of professional analysts wake to issue new opinions on stocks. Here at the Fool, we use our "This Just In" column to examine some of these picks-- and the track records of the firms behind them -- so individuals can make better investing decisions.

In addition to following professional banks, anyone can use Motley Fool CAPS to monitor the collective opinions of more than 140,000 members, many of whom demonstrate better investing insight than published analysts do.

After being pummeled down to a two-star rank earlier this summer, enough top-performing CAPS members turned bullish on Cytori Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CYTX) to have it once again touch four-star status recently. A total of 117 members have given their opinion on Cytori Therapeutics, with many of them offering analysis and commentary explaining the recent optimism.

Many CAPS members are bullish on the future of stem-cell technologies and expect Cytori's products to become more widely accepted and applied going forward. Large drugmakers like Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), and sanofi-aventis (NYSE: SNY) have jumped on the stem-cell bandwagon in recent years, and the Obama administration recently eased restrictions on stem-cell research. Cytori sells its products primarily in Europe and Asia, but it is increasing its presence in the U.S. as it progresses through the regulatory pathway.

In recent quarters, the company has been lowering expenses, narrowing its losses, and boosting its third-party revenue as it ramps up its Celution and StemSource products around the world. It recognized $7.3 million in development revenue from its Olympus partnership in the second quarter, sending its year-over-year total revenue growth into the stratosphere, and an expanded deal with General Electric's (NYSE: GE) GE Healthcare shows promise.

The company expects annual revenue growth, but because of the sales cycle of its products, this can fluctuate dramatically, setting up the stock volatility that investors in Geron (Nasdaq: GERN) and StemCells (Nasdaq: STEM) are familiar with.

Do you think Cytori Therapeutics deserves its star bump? Add your thoughts in the comments box below, or head over to CAPS to rate it yourself and check out all the information and opinions the community offers. CAPS is totally free.