NuVasive Inc. (NSDQ:NUVA) said yesteray that a higher-than-forecast tax rate pushed it into the red during the 3rd quarter but beat Wall Street’s expectations for revenues, sending share prices up today on The Street.
San Diego-based NuVasive reported losses of -$1.8 million, or -4¢ per share, on sales of $189.9 million for the 3 months ended Sept. 30, for sales growth of 12.3%. Analysts were looking for sales of $179.3 million from the spinal implant maker.
Excluding 1-time items, adjusted EPS were 19¢, 6¢ behind consensus estimates. Leerink Partners analyst Richard Newitter said NuVasive would have beat expectations by a nickel absent the unexpected tax rate of 128%, which cut 8¢ per share from earnings, and a 1-time royalty payment.
NuVasive said it expects to recoup that 8¢ during the 4th quarter and raised its outlook for the rest of the year, saying it now expects to report adjusted EPS of $1.12, up from prior guidance of $1.11, on sales of $755 million (formerly $745 million).
"We are pleased to report results for the 3rd quarter 2014 that exceeded revenue expectations, generated record free cash flow and demonstrated strong progress toward our commitment to increase operating profitability," chairman & CEO Alex Lukianov said in prepared remarks. "Last quarter we announced our position as the #3 spine player globally. That is an incredible accomplishment for the entire NUVA family and we are proud that our strategy delivered continued market share gains in the 3rd quarter. We are laser-focused on delivering on our updated full-year performance expectations with a strong finish to 2014. The combination of our dynamic share taking strategy with our well-defined levers for improving profitability is set to drive our growth this year and improve shareholder value over the next several years."
NUVA shares closed up 1.8% yesterday at $39.26 apiece and hit a 52-week high of $42.44 today. The stock was trading at $40.31 as of about 11:50 a.m. Eastern, up 2.7%.