Upcoming AWS Coverage on Boston Scientific Post-Earnings Results

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / February 7, 2017 / Active Wall St. announces its post-earnings coverage on Stryker Corp. (NYSE: SYK). The Company reported its fourth quarter and fiscal 2016 results on January 24, 2017. The Kalamazoo, Michigan-based medical device maker surpassed top- and bottom-line expectations. Register with us now for your free membership at:

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One of Stryker's competitors within the Medical Appliances & Equipment space, Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE: BSX), announced on January 03, 2017, that it will webcast its conference call discussing financial results for Q4 ended December 31, 2016, on Thursday, February 02, 2017, at 8:00 a.m. ET. AWS will be initiating a research report on Boston Scientific in the coming days.

Today, AWS is promoting its earnings coverage on SYK; touching on BSX. Get our free coverage by signing up to:

http://www.activewallst.com/registration-3/?symbol=SYK

http://www.activewallst.com/registration-3/?symbol=BSX

Earnings Reviewed

For the three months and full year ended December 31, 2016, Stryker's consolidated net sales of $3.16 billion and $11.33 billion increased 16.2% and 13.9%, compared to net sales of $2.72 billion and $9.95 billion respectively. The Company's net sales increased 16.8% and 14.3% for Q4 2016 and FY16 in constant currency, respectively. The acquisitions of Sage Products LLC and Physio-Control International, Inc., contributed $258 million and $740 million to the Company's consolidated net sales in the reported quarter and full year. Stryker's quarterly revenue numbers marginally outperformed analysts' forecasts of $3.15 billion in sales.

Stryker's net earnings decreased 2.3% in Q4 2016 to $510 million, and increased 14.5% to $1.6 billion in FY16 compared to the corresponding year ago periods. The Company's net earnings per diluted share decreased 2.9% in the reported quarter to $1.34 and increased 15.1% to $4.35 in the full year. Reported net earnings includes charges for the amortization of purchased intangible assets, restructuring-related activities, Rejuvenate and ABG II recall, acquisition and integration related activities and certain tax matters. Excluding the impact of these items, adjusted net earnings for Q4 2016 was $675 million, up 14.2% on a y-o-y basis and for FY16 was $2.2 billion up 12.6% on a y-o-y basis. The Company's adjusted net earnings per diluted share for Q4 2016 were $1.78, increasing 14.1%, while for the full year it came in at $5.80, up by 3.3%. Stryker's Q4 2016 earnings number surpassed Wall Street's expectations of $1.76 per share.

Sales Analysis

Stryker's Orthopaedics net sales of $1.2 billion and $4.4 billion increased 5.3% and 4.7% in Q4 2016 and FY16, and 5.7% and 5.1% in constant currency, as foreign currency exchange rates negatively impacted net sales by 0.4% for both periods.

The Company reported MedSurg net sales of $1.4 billion and $4.9 billion for Q4 2016 and FY16, higher by 31.1% and 25.6%, respectively, on a y-o-y basis. The products' net sales for the reported quarter and full year grew by 32.1% and 26.3% in constant currency, as foreign currency exchange rates negatively impacted net sales by 1.0% and 0.7% during the respective reporting periods.

During Q4 2016 and FY16, Stryker's Neurotechnology and Spine category reported net sales of $526 million and $2.0 billion, higher by 8.7% and 9.9%, and 8.6% and 9.8% in constant currency, respectively, as foreign currency exchange rates positively impacted net sales by 0.1% in both periods.

Operating Metrics

For Q4 2016, Stryker's adjusted gross margin of 66.3% was down 90 basis points from Q4 2015. The Company's adjusted SG&A of 32.6% of sales was 110 basis points favorable compared to Q4 2015. Stryker's Q4 2016 R&D spending totaled 6% of sales, and for FY16 it came in at 6.3%. The Company's adjusted Q4 2016 operating expenses were 38.6% of sales, which were 110 basis points favorable to the prior-year's same quarter. For Q4 2016, Stryker's adjusted operating margin was 27.7% of sales, up 30 basis points on a y-o-y basis. The Company's FY16 adjusted operating margin was 25.5%.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow

Stryker ended the year with $3.4 billion of cash and marketable securities, of which approximately 84% was held outside the US. Total debt on the Company's balance sheet at the end of the year was $6.9 billion. Stryker's FY16 cash from operations was approximately $1.8 billion.

Outlook

Stryker is forecasting Q1 2017 and FY17 organic sales growth to be in the range of 5.5% to 6.5%, and adjusted net earnings per diluted share to be in the range of $1.40 to $1.45 in Q1 2017 and $6.35 to $6.45 in FY17. On January 01, 2017, the Company adopted the updated accounting guidance required by ASU 2016-09 Stock Compensation. Stryker stated that it the Company's share price remains at current levels and stock option exercises remain at historical levels, it expects the changes in accounting for excess tax benefits on stock compensation to positively impact net earnings per diluted share by approximately $0.07 to $0.09 in FY17, about half of which is expected in Q1 2017.

Stock Performance

On February 06, 2017, Stryker's share price finished the trading session at $122.33, slightly down 0.83%. A total volume of 1.16 million shares exchanged hands. The stock has rallied 6.15% and 27.97% in the last three months and past twelve months, respectively. Furthermore, since the start of the year, shares of the Company have gained 2.10%. The stock is trading at a PE ratio of 28.12 and has a dividend yield of 1.39%.

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SOURCE: Active Wall Street