10 of the best performing medical device stocks of 2018

Boston Scientific: +43%

The Promus Elite drug-eluting cardiac stent [Image courtesy of Boston Scientific]

Investors overall appear to like the news out of Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX), including restructuring efforts, acquisitions of new technology and the U.S. launch of a drug-eluting stent.

The Marlborough, Mass.–based medical device maker began its fourth quarter by announcing a $200 million restructuring, due to begin next year and proceed through 2021. The changes are expected to cut annual pre-tax operating expenses by $100 million to $150 million by the end of 2022, according to the company, which added that it plans to put “a substantial portion” of the savings into “strategic growth initiatives.”

Boston Scientific has also been busy buying up other companies and their technologies this year. Among its most recent acquisitions was the $600 million purchase of Augmenix and its SpaceOar hydrogel device, designed to separate the prostate from the rectal wall during radiation treatment for prostate cancer. This week, the company offered roughly $4.24 billion to acquire British oncology and vascular device maker BTG (LON:BTG) in hopes of closing in the first half of 2019.

Boston Scientific launched its Eluvia drug-eluting stent in the U.S. during the third quarter, following positive data from the first head-to-head trial of its kind and an early FDA approval. The company is also facing pricing pressure in the U.S. in the coronary drug-eluting stent market, CEO Mike Mahoney said.

On the R&D side, Boston Scientific also enrolled the first patient in a trial assessing a drug-eluting stent for below-the-knee lesions, and completed enrollment in a trial evaluating its Ranger drug-coated balloon. The company is hoping to launch its Ranger device in the U.S. in 2020. The FDA also recently approved its new drug-eluting coronary stent, the Promus Elite.

Boston Scientific acquired Millipede in a $325 million deal in late December last year with the opportunity for an additional $125 million based on a commercial milestone. Millipede develops the Iris trans catheter annuloplasty ring for treating mitral valve regurgitation. Boston Scientific originally had invested $90 million into Millipede in January 2018 with the option to purchase the remaining $325 million in shares.