The Spectranetics Corporation (NASDAQ:SPNC) is bumped down to third by Quest Diagnostics Inc (NYSE:DGX), and Tamarack also cut their position in this stock by 10% to 1.03 million shares despite increasing its position in many others. Tamarack has profited greatly from this stock, first opening a position on it in the fourth quarter of 2012, when it was trading around $15.00. Since then it has gained more than 120% to $33.75.
Tamarack may simply be taking some profit from their trade, or it may feel the stock is about to peak. It is down 2.4% in trading year-to-date, and a number of company insiders have sold shares in recent months, which could indicate they feel the same. Despite that, analysts are still bullish on this stock, with CanAccord Genuity rating it a ‘Buy’ with a $41.00 price target on January 27, while JP Morgan raised their price target to $40.00 from $37.00 on December 5.
The Spectranetics Corporation (NASDAQ:SPNC) develops single-use medical devices that can be used in minimally invasive procedures, including singe-use laser catheters. It will release its 2014 fourth quarter results on February 19, with analysts expecting quarterly earnings per share of -$0.06.
Greatbatch Inc (NYSE:GB) is another company in the medical supplies and equipment field, and gets bumped up to fourth from fifth amonst Tamarack’s holdings, as it increased its position in the stock for the third straight quarter, most recently adding 9% to its position, giving it 519,000 shares. Greatbatch has been another success for Tamarack, up 13.31% in 2014, and another 2.76% year-to-date.
Greatbatch Inc (NYSE:GB) is another stock with a good deal of insider selling in the past few months as shares have hovered near all-time highs throughout that time. Greatbatch beat earnings estimates with their 2014 third quarter results of $0.64 per share, though revenue fell just shy of estimates at $171.70 million. That was an increase of 2.4% from the fourth quarter of 2013.
Lastly is Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE:MDT), a position which Tamarack opened during the third quarter of 2014. This has been yet another good position for Tamarack, as the stock has returned 20.95% since the beginning of the fourth quarter, with a particularly large jump being registered in the middle of November as they raised their outlook for fiscal 2015. Medtronic reported revenue of $17.01 billion in fiscal 2014, and expects revenue to rise 4% to $17.71 billion in fiscal 2015.
Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE:MDT) has received FDA approval for several treatments over the past couple months, including pre-market approval for their Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve, and approval for their IN.PACT Admiral drug-coated balloon, used for the interventional treatment of peripheral artery disease in the upper leg. The $105.7 billion market cap company also completed their acquisition of Covidien plc (NYSE:COV) at the end of January, a deal that was valued at just under $50 billion.
Disclosure: None
