What happened
Shares of Zynex (ZYXI 2.47%) were crashing 17.8% lower as of 11:21 a.m. EST on Friday. The steep drop came after the medical technology company announced its fourth-quarter results following the market close on Thursday.
So what
It wasn't that Zynex's Q4 results were bad. The company reported that revenue soared 81% year over year to an all-time high of $25.6 million. It generated earnings in the fourth quarter of $1.8 million, or $0.05 per diluted share. The problem was that those numbers didn't quite meet Wall Street's expectations.
An even bigger issue, though, was that Zynex's 2021 Q1 forecast fell short of analysts' views. The company projects Q1 revenue between $23 million and $24.5 million. This midpoint of that range is well below the average analyst estimate of $27.4 million. And while Wall Street was looking for earnings of $0.07 per share in the first quarter, Zynex anticipates a "small loss."
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However, it's important for investors to keep the big picture in mind. The first quarter is historically weaker due to the seasonal impact of deductibles resetting. But Zynex expects its sales and bottom line to improve throughout 2021. The healthcare stock should rebound if it delivers stronger growth than expected.
Now what
The main thing to watch with Zynex now is what impact the expansion of its sales force has on order growth. The company thinks that it should see an uptick in orders in the first half of 2021, with revenue increasing in the second half of the year and beyond.
