Following a strong performance over the last couple of weeks, the medtech market experienced one of its most significant drop-offs in recent months amid investor worries over a rise in COVID-19 cases in some states.
MassDevice’s MedTech 100 Index — which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies — sat at 82.12 points at the end of last week (June 12). That total represents a -6% decrease from the 87.37-point total at the same time a week prior (June 5), highlighting a significant drop from one of the strongest stretches the medtech market had seen since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Index experienced a -4.8% decrease from June 5 to June 12, and the Dow Jones Index fared even worse with a -5.6% increase over the same period of time. The drop-off is stark compared to this time a week ago, when both indexes saw sizeable growth — rising 3.14% and 6.81%, respectively.
The earlier market surge came on the back of the White House announcement that 2.5 million jobs were added in May and unemployment rose to 13.3% when a surge to nearly 20% was expected, according to Yahoo Finance.
Medtech’s lowest point during the COVID-19 pandemic remains at 62.13 on March 23. Since then, the industry’s stocks have experienced 32.2% growth in total.
Stocks remain down -11% since the index’s pre-pandemic crash high point of 92.32 on Feb. 19, although that margin of decline is among the smallest differences observed over the course of the pandemic.
Most companies have reported their recent earnings results and given their forecasts for what lies ahead, while a poll from Gallup found that fewer Americans are worried about going to the doctor amid the pandemic, which could positively impact some corners of the medtech space.
The industry continues to plug along and businesses continue to operate through the pandemic. Here are some of the major highlights from the past week:
- Senseonics feels COVID-19 wrath on Q1 earnings
- Chinese manufacturer faces federal charges after allegedly exporting defective masks
- Phase 3 of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine study to begin next month
- Support grows for medtech reps to return to hospitals
- Hologic’s Q3 outlook improves
- Abbott declares 386th consecutive quarterly dividend
- Grifols begins production on COVID-19 prevention drug
- Okami Medical raises $7.2 million
