LeMaitre Vascular Inc. Stock Downgraded (LMAT)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- LeMaitre Vascular (Nasdaq:LMAT) has been downgraded by TheStreet Ratings from buy to hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and expanding profit margins. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself, deteriorating net income and disappointing return on equity.

Highlights from the ratings report include:

• LMAT has no debt to speak of therefore resulting in a debt-to-equity ratio of zero, which we consider to be a relatively favorable sign. Along with this, the company maintains a quick ratio of 4.38, which clearly demonstrates the ability to cover short-term cash needs.
• Regardless of the drop in revenue, the company managed to outperform against the industry average of 8.6%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly dropped by 7.1%. The declining revenue appears to have seeped down to the company's bottom line, decreasing earnings per share.
• The gross profit margin for LEMAITRE VASCULAR INC is currently very high, coming in at 71.00%. Regardless of LMAT's high profit margin, it has managed to decrease from the same period last year. Despite the mixed results of the gross profit margin, LMAT's net profit margin of 2.60% is significantly lower than the same period one year prior.
• The share price of LEMAITRE VASCULAR INC has not done very well: it is down 18.05% and has underperformed the S&P 500, in part reflecting the company's sharply declining earnings per share when compared to the year-earlier quarter. Looking ahead, other than the push or pull of the broad market, we do not see anything in the company's numbers that may help reverse the decline experienced over the past 12 months. Despite the past decline, the stock is still selling for more than most others in its industry.
• Current return on equity is lower than its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a clear sign of weakness within the company. Compared to other companies in the Health Care Equipment & Supplies industry and the overall market, LEMAITRE VASCULAR INC's return on equity significantly trails that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.

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LeMaitre Vascular, Inc. develops, manufactures, and markets vascular devices for the treatment of peripheral vascular disease worldwide. The company has a P/E ratio of 24.6, below the average health services industry P/E ratio of 24.8 and above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. LeMaitre Vascular has a market cap of $87.8 million and is part of the health care sector and health services industry. Shares are down 4.9% year to date as of the close of trading on Tuesday.

You can view the full LeMaitre Vascular Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.
-- Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff

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