What happened
Shares of Bioventus (BVS -4.24%) fell 14% on Wednesday. The medical device company's stock closed on Tuesday at $3 a share, then opened on Wednesday at $2.90. The stock fell to as low as $2.25 before bouncing back a bit to $2.58 at the close. The stock is down more than 82% this year.
So what
Bioventus focuses on making treatments that enhance the body's natural healing process, such as ultrasound bone healing systems and bone graft materials. The company released its third-quarter earnings report after the market closed on Tuesday. Some of the details were quite positive, so the negative move was a surprise at first.
The company reported revenue of $137.1 million, up 25.9% year over year with net income of $3.2 million, compared to a net loss of $2.3 million in the same period a year ago.
The reason the stock plummeted, though, was that the company downgraded yearly guidance. It placed yearly revenue between $527 million and $532 million, still representing growth of 22% to 23%, but down from an earlier forecast of $547.5 million to $562.5 million. It also said it now expected adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) to be between $75 million and $79 million, down from the earlier range of $94 million to $104 million and down from last year's adjusted EBITDA of $80.8 million. Seeing the reduced forecast, several analysts downgraded the stock.
Now what
In the long run, what matters most is the healthcare company's bottom line, and that appears to be relatively healthy for now. Bioventus may be carrying too much debt, though, thanks to acquisitions it made earlier this year. In the third quarter, it said it had $34.4 million in cash and cash equivalents and $424.4 million in debt, leaving it with net debt of $390 million.
