Less than a year on Wall Street, medical robotics specialist Hansen Medical (NASDAQ:HNSN) has already managed to disappoint investors in two consecutive quarters. But when it reports Q2 2007 numbers Tuesday afternoon, will the third time prove to be the charm?

What analysts say:

  • Buy, sell, or waffle? Eight analysts track Hansen Medical -- one more than follow its more famous, and savory, namesake, Hansen Natural (NASDAQ:HANS). Five rate it a buy, and three a hold.
  • Revenues. On average, the analysts predict Hansen will report less than $1 million in sales on Tuesday.
  • Earnings. They furthermore predict a per-share loss of $0.39.

What management says:
Hansen is what you might call the prototypical "start-up" company. In illustration of which, the company headlined its first-quarter earnings report in April with an announcement that it has started up European shipments of its Sensei robotic catheter system. It also started up a European subsidiary, presumably to manage and grow these shipments.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, CEO Frederic Moll expressed confidence that Hansen would receive clearance for Sensei from the FDA "by the end of the third quarter of 2007." And voila! Just three days later, Hansen triumphantly trumpeted receipt of said clearance ahead of schedule. (Reports could not be confirmed by press time that upon receipt of the news, Moll declared, "I love it when a plan comes together.")

What management does:
Sad but true -- to generate meaningful profit margins, a company must first have sales. Hansen is working on that, but for the time being, all it's got are expenses, and losses. We'll get you our usual table of margin trends just as soon as Hansen gives us some numbers to work with.

One Fool says:
Investing in a company with literally no revenues has to be a harrowing experience for investors. But the news discussed above should provide some assurance that, now that Hansen has "built it," they -- the revenues -- will come.

Need more reassurance? Read all about the astounding success of Moll's last company, Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG), a three-time winner for Motley Fool Rule Breakers members, when you take a free 30-day trial to the service.

Fool contributor Rich Smith does not own shares of any company named above. Why do we tell you this? Because The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.