Baxter Gets 510(k) Clearance for Next-Gen Infusion Pump - Analyst Blog

Shares of Baxter International Inc. BAX upped nearly 1% following the disclosure of 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its next-generation SIGMA Spectrum Infusion Pump featuring Master Drug Library. Infusion pumps are widely used by hospitals to transmit fluids, medications or nutrients to patient's circulatory system.

The advanced SIGMA Spectrum Infusion Pump allows increased capacity of the master drug library, which is safety software that helps hospital maintain a customized in-house library of facility-defined dosing parameters for infusions to minimize the chance of drug errors.

This infusion pump also includes dose error reduction software (DERS) and enables wireless connectivity to integrate data into a hospital's electronic medical record EMR system. This helps transferring data to and from the system for updating drug libraries, and creates continuous quality improvement reports.

Further, new asset-tracking capabilities of the infusion pump will enable hospitals to locate, manage and deploy SIGMA Spectrum inventory in order to ensure efficient allocation of hospital assets.

BAX plans to launch the next-generation infusion pump at selected healthcare facilities beginning this summer. Its earlier version of SIGMA Spectrum Infusion Pump has been a three-consecutive-year winner of the “Best in KLAS” award for Smart Pumps.

BAX posted a decent 9.2% rise in adjusted net earnings to $1.19 per share for the first quarter of 2014 from $1.09 per in the same quarter a year back. With this, the company not only surpassed its previously issued guidance of $1.06 to $1.09 per share but also the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 9 cents per share.

Revenues for the quarter went up 14.6% to $3,951 million globally and exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,885 million. Excluding the contribution from Gambro, revenues in the quarter grew 3% to $3.55 billion (or 5% excluding the impact of foreign currency).

For the second quarter of 2014, Baxter expects revenues to grow between 12 and 13%, barring the impact of foreign currency. The company also expects adjusted earnings in the range of $1.18 to $1.22 per share for the quarter. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.21 lies within the guided range.
 
BAX reiterated its outlook for full year 2014. The company continues to expect revenues growth in the range of 9 to 10%, excluding the impact of foreign exchange, for the year. The company also expects adjusted earnings between $5.05 and $5.25 per share and operating cash flow of $3.5 billion for the year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.14 for the year lies within the guided range.

Currently, BAX has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the medical products industry include Baxano Surgical, Inc. (BAXS), Eagle Pharmaceuticals Inc. EGRX, and Exactech Inc. EXAC. All of them carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
BAXTER INTL BAX: Free Stock Analysis Report
 
BAXANO SURGICAL (BAXS): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
EAGLE PHARMACT EGRX: Free Stock Analysis Report
 
EXACTECH INC EXAC: Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research