There was something for nearly everyone in yesterday's earnings release from Kinetic Concepts
Like Intuitive Surgical
Kinetic Concepts' largest segment, V.A.C. therapy, didn't have the same kind of issues because it rents its wound-healing equipment to hospitals, and spending on the therapy isn't as easily deferred. Demand for the V.A.C. was up, but revenue fell 1.1% from the year-ago quarter because of changes in currency and lower reimbursement rates, as more patients came from programs like Medicare that typically reimburse at a lower level.
And then there's Kinetic Concepts' regenerative medicine products, acquired in last year's purchase of Life Cell. Revenue for the quarter was 22% higher than Life Cell experienced last year. The launch of Strattice, its regenerative tissue matrix, was the main contributor to growth, accounting for 25% of total sales of regenerative medicine. The only down side to the regenerative medicine products was that the launch in Europe is going slowly and didn't contribute anything to sales in the first quarter. Of course that means there's still upside left in the product.
So you've got an Intuitive Surgical; an Amgen
Conceptualize this Foolishness:
- Kiss the rally goodbye.
- Is this the ultimate signal to load up on stocks?
- Maybe you just need to stop worrying.