Oppenheimer Reiterates Perform Rating, Does Not Set PT for HeartWare

In a company update published earlier today, Oppenheimer Holdings reiterated its Perform rating for HeartWare International Inc. HTWR, but did not set a price target. Oppenheimer said in its report “1Q12 sales of $26.3M (+47% y/y) solidly beat our $18.3M est. and the Street's $20.3M. Growth was led by HTWR's best qtr yet OUS (224 implants) as well as a stronger-than-expected showing in the US (74 implants) from the ENDURANCE destination therapy (DT) trial. Aside from the encouraging directional trends in the LVAD market, the focus of the call was on HTWR's current preparations for bridge-to-transplant (BTT) market approval later this year. Overall, with strong 1Qs from THOR/HTWR, we continue to believe the pieces are falling in place globally for significant LVAD expansion over the next few years. N-T, the spotlight for HTWR is on HVAD launch execution.” HeartWare International Inc. closed yesterday at $77.14.