The foofaraw over St. Jude Medical‘s (NYSE:STJ) recalled Riata defibrillator leads is slated for top billing at the upcoming annual meeting of the Heart Rhythm Society in Boston, according to a pair of Leerink Swann analysts.
The analysts, citing the views of a "prominent high volume electrophysiolgist," said the controversy over St. Judes recalled Riata leads, along with Boston Scientific‘s (NYSE:BSX) reputation for "excellent ICD leads," could position BSX to gain market share.
"The physician noted that doctors at his hospital – a high-volume quaternary referral center – had already cut back on their STJ device usage, in an effort to be extra cautious and stay away from any potential device performance controversies. This specific physician’s concern appears to be with ‘inside-out abrasion’ and ‘short circuiting,’ which he suggested could occur with the older generation STJ leads but not with competitors’ products," wrote Leerink analysts Rick Wise and Miroslava Minkova in a note to investors. "This physician seemed to also have an overall positive view on BSX’s new Incepta, Punctua, and Energen devices. He emphasized he felt BSX had ‘excellent ICD leads’ – positioning BSX well amid the current lead-related controversies."
Boston Scientific could also benefit from the leadless ICD technology it agreed to acquire last month along with Cameron Health in a deal worth up to $1.35 billion. The S-ICD device is slated for a review by the FDA’s circulatory devices panel April 26.
"Given the ongoing controversies around transvenous leads, if/when approved, this doctor felt there would be lots of physician interest in Cameron’s technology," the analysts wrote. "But he also cautioned that the initial uptake would be relatively slow, due to limitations of the current generation S-ICD system and as doctors gain comfort with the technology."
Other topics of interest for the HRS conference, slated to begin May 9, are likely to include Medtronic‘s (NYSE:MDT) MRI-safe pacemaker, the Revo; Johnson & Johnson‘s (NYSE:JNJ) contact-sensing catheter technology; and Topera Medical’s AF mapping system.
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Analysts’ ups and downs
- Abbott (NYSE:ABT): Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) from $57.00 to $65.00
- Hologic (NSDQ:HOLX): Bank of America has initiated Hologic (NASDAQ: HOLX [FREE Stock Trend Analysis]) with a Buy rating and $26 PT; William Blair began coverage on shares ofHologic (NASDAQ: HOLX) in a note issued to investors on Thursday. The firm set an “outperform” rating on the stock.
- Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ): Morgan Stanley maintains its Equal-weight rating on Johnson & Johnson
- Medtronic (NYSE:MDT): Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) raised their price target on shares of Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) from $42.00 to $45.00
- Smith & Nephew (NYSE:SNN): Caris & Co. lowers price target to $50 from $54.
- St. Jude Medical (NYSE:STJ): Goldman Sachs Group Inc. maintained its "Neutral" rating
