ResMed (NYSE:RMD) got Wall Street’s attention after posting record sales and income for its 4th quarter, but shares have dropped back down, and then some, since the initial rush last week.
RMD shares were trading at $47.18 as of about 4 p.m. today, about 1% less than the $47.65 closing price the night before the company released its 4th quarter earnings.
ResMed on August 1 reported its 4th quarter financials, posting an 11.5% bump in sales and but a 5% dip in profits for the 3 months ended June 30, 2013. Overall the device maker posted profits of $73 million, or 50¢ per diluted share, on sales of $414.6 million during its 4th quarter. That compared with profits of $76.8 million in profit, or 53¢ per share, on sales of $371.9 million during the same period last year.
Excluding 1-time expenses, ResMed reported per-share earnings of 62¢, beating analysts’ consensus estimates by 5¢.
RMD shares, which opened at $48.50 on August 1 prior to the earnings release, climbed as high as $51 the next day, a 5.2% increase in share prices. That spike was short lived, however, and shares were back down to $47.89 by the end of the day August 2.
The San Diego respiratory devices maker has been busy defending its patent portfolio against alleged infringers, including a lawsuit filed last month against BMC Medical Co. and its U.S. subsidiary 3B Products.
ResMed has had some limited success in taking alleged infringers to task, both in court and in before the International Trade Commission. Earlier in July both ResMed and rival Apex Medical notched a win in their corners when the ITC approved a consent decree that would prevent Apex from importing into the U.S. any products that infringe on ResMed’s patents. The decree didn’t name any specific products and an Apex company statement said that the company’s "lawful operation in the United States is completely undisturbed."
