You don't find too many medical technology companies alive and well more than 10 years after their IPO. Most halfway decent companies are bought out (like TheraSense and Perclose by AbbottLabs (NYSE:ABT) or MiniMed by Medtronic (NYSE:MDT)), and the not-so-good ones just linger as publicly traded zombies. And yet, women's health specialist Cytyc (NASDAQ:CYTC) stands here 10 years later and still growing.
In the first quarter, Cytyc's revenue rose 24%, margins expanded (fueling a 34% jump in reported operating income), and adjusted net income rose 29%. Supporting the future thesis I laid out after the previous quarter, domestic diagnostic revenue climbed about 8% this time around, while domestic surgical revenue was up 73%.
It seems fairly clear to me that surgical products are a big part of the company's plans for the future. In particular, there seems to be a bit more talk about the use of Cytyc's MammoSite products for breast brachytherapy, when a radioactive source is put close to or inside the area that needs treatment. That's not really an especially common procedure yet, but there are certainly some folks out there who think it could and should be.
And I do wonder what the future holds for the company's core ThinPrep product line. In particular, I'm interested in seeing what the advent of anti-HPV vaccines like Gardasil (from Merck (NYSE:MRK)) and Cervarix (GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK)) do to the market. While there are plenty of valid reasons for women to get the test even if they're not worried about cervical cancer, cancer prevention seems to be the angle that a lot of health officials really push. So if some women feel that they don't have to worry anymore about cervical cancer, will they still put up with an annual testing procedure that many find uncomfortable?
All the same, I wouldn't avoid Cytyc strictly on that basis. My issue is instead more value-based. These shares seem more or less fairly valued to me, and I generally like to do my stock shopping in the bargain bins.
Merck and GlaxoSmithKline are Motley Fool Income Investor recommendations. Want to get paid to invest? Mathew Emmert can show you how.
Fool contributor Stephen Simpson has no financial interest in any stocks mentioned (that means he's neither long nor short the shares).
