A couple of weeks ago, I introduced Fool readers to my nomination for the best bargain in the health-care industry -- a company that, according its fans over on the Yahoo! Finance boards, could quite possibly be the cheapest stock ever. AngioDynamics (Nasdaq: ANGO ) is its name, and killing cancer (among other things) is its game.
Many companies take many different approaches to cancer treatment. General Electric (NYSE: GE ) and Varian Medical (NYSE: VAR ) , for example, specialize in manufacturing equipment and software for radiation therapy. Pharmaceutical firms like Novartis (NYSE: NVS ) and GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK ) focus on drugs that kill cancer with chemotherapy. But AngioDynamics takes a more targeted approach. Its NanoKnife system inserts a wire directly into a tumor and then uses targeted bursts of electricity to kill the cancer dead. It's a novel solution to the problem, and one that could potentially render competing approaches obsolete.
But is it succeeding?
Killing cancer, growing cash flow
In a word: yes. Many investors were upset with Angio's first-quarter performance last week, but I think the company's working out just fine. Criticism seems to center on Angio's earning only $0.08 per share (adjusted), or $0.03 less than projected. Wall Street also wasn't pleased to see the company grow revenues only 5.6%, versus a hoped-for 8.5%. But if you're like me, and you think the real promise at Angio lies in its Oncology/Surgery business, and specifically the NanoKnife surgical ablation device, it's hard to fault Angio's performance.
O/S was Angio's strongest performer last quarter, with sales up 15% year over year. In particular, NanoKnife revenues spiked more than 100%, rising to $2.3 million, and now make up nearly 13% of this division's sales. The number of patients who have "gone under the NanoKnife" recently passed 800 -- a level at least 16% higher than where we stood just three months ago -- and shows no sign of slowing down. To the contrary, new CEO Joseph DeVivo (a great name for a health-care CEO, I might add) says that "key opinion leaders have confirmed to me the significant opportunity ahead for the NanoKnife System."
Call me an optimist, call me a Fool, but I think the opportunity for investors is just as "significant." Free cash flow at the company now stands at $32.4 million for the past 12 months -- more than 4 times reported earnings at Angio. At an enterprise value-to-free cash flow ratio of just 6.8, the stock looks even cheaper than the last time I recommended it.
Want to learn more about AngioDynamics? Add it to your Fool Watchlist.
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