CryoLife: +48%
CryoLife’s (NYSE:CRY) is a maker of medtech products including preserved human cardiac and vascular tissues, surgical adhesives and sealants, prosthetic heart valves, cardiac lasers and other medical devices. The Atlanta-based company’s stock was up 68% for the year after second-quarter revenues that beat the Street, though the stock gains are down since then after third-quarter sales and earnings that missed analyst forecasts.
Still, CryoLife has raised its outlook for the rest of 2018, saying it now expects to log adjusted earnings per share of 30¢ to 33¢, up from 29¢ to 32¢ previously, on sales of $261.5 million to $262.5 million, compared with prior guidance of $256.0 million to $260.0 million. Fourth-quarter sales are pegged at $66.5 million to $67.5 million, the company said.
CEO Pat Mackin told analysts in November 2018 that the company is in the process of submitting paperwork to the FDA to begin an investigational device exemption trial for one of its On-X heart valve replacement devices. The company hopes to begin enrolling patients in the first half of 2019. The original On-X valves were approved in the early 2000s.