Health and Healthcare

Abbott (ABT) Stent Slowdown, Bad For Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) And Boston Scientific (BSX)

Abbott Labs (ABT) which just launched a new stent product, Xience V, has laid off 1,200 people because of slowness in the stent market. Stranger than fiction. According to MarketWatch, Abbott says it expects to "take a 25-30% market share in 2008." But, of course, it looks like they miscalculated by employing all of those people in the first place.

No matter how wrong-headed that Abbott seems, it is bad news for the two incumbents in the stent business, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Boston Scientific (BSX). BSX is already struggling with falling operating income and a tremendous debt load.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Find a Qualified Financial Advisor (Sponsor)

Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to 3 fiduciary financial advisors in your area in 5 minutes. Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.