Medical device maker Medtronic PLC (NYSE: MDT) is scheduled to report its fiscal third-quarter results Tuesday before the opening bell. Thomson Reuters has consensus estimates of $0.97 in earnings per share (EPS) and $4.25 billion in revenue. In the same period of the previous year, the world’s third largest medical device company posted EPS of $0.91 and $4.16 million in revenue.
Since its tax-inversion merger with Covidien, announced last year and recently completed, Medtronic is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, but it has operational headquarters in suburban Minneapolis. It products include everything from pacemakers to insulin pumps to surgical supplies.
The Covidien merger in 2014 has been the driver for Medtronic’s recent outperformance, and investors will be watching to see if that continues to be the case. Merrill Lynch included Medtronic among its top health care picks for 2015, citing the company’s relatively low-risk EPS growth outlook and potential for significant dividend growth.
Credit Suisse added Medtronic to its top picks list last year on the potential positive synergies resulting from the merger. Oppenheimer also saw Medtronic as a potential winner should the Republican-controlled Congress manage to repeal the medical device tax in the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
ALSO READ: 5 Top Credit Suisse Health Care Stock Picks to Buy for 2015
The price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio at Medtronic is 26.08, which is less than its industry average. The price-to-book value on the stock is 3.79. The company has a market cap of around $74 billion, as well as dividend yield near 1.6%.
The 50-day moving average, currently at $73.71, has acted as support since before the merger was announced. The 200-day moving average is down at $66.51.
Shares ended last week at $75.26, up about 4.2% year to date. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $82.28 and a 52-week trading range of $55.30 to $77.39.
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