Wright Medical Group Inc. Stock Downgraded (WMGI)

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

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• Compared to its closing price of one year ago, WMGI's share price has jumped by 35.52%, exceeding the performance of the broader market during that same time frame. Regarding the stock's future course, our hold rating indicates that we do not recommend additional investment in this stock despite its gains in the past year.
• The gross profit margin for WRIGHT MEDICAL GROUP INC is currently very high, coming in at 76.60%. It has increased from the same quarter the previous year. Despite the strong results of the gross profit margin, WMGI's net profit margin of 0.60% significantly trails the industry average.
• Despite currently having a low debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, it is higher than that of the industry average, inferring that management of debt levels may need to be evaluated further. Even though the debt-to-equity ratio shows mixed results, the company's quick ratio of 3.83 is very high and demonstrates very strong liquidity.
• The company, on the basis of change in net income from the same quarter one year ago, has significantly underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500 and the Health Care Equipment & Supplies industry. The net income has significantly decreased by 88.4% when compared to the same quarter one year ago, falling from $6.15 million to $0.71 million.
• 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, WRIGHT MEDICAL GROUP INC's return on equity significantly trails that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.

Wright Medical Group, Inc., an orthopedic medical device company, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of devices and biologic products for the extremity, hip, and knee repair and reconstruction. The company also provides surgical solutions for the foot and ankle market. Wright Medical Group has a market cap of $715.4 million and is part of the health care sector and health services industry. Shares are up 10.3% year to date as of the close of trading on Friday.

You can view the full Wright Medical Group Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

-- Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff

TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

For more information on Wright Medical Group Inc. click any of the following:

• Wright Medical Group Inc. Stock Price

• Wright Medical Group Inc. Analyst Ratings

• Wright Medical Group Inc. Key Stats & Profile

• Wright Medical Group Inc. Earnings

• Wright Medical Group Inc. Ratio Comparison

• Wright Medical Group Inc. Growth Rates

• Wright Medical Group Inc. Balance Sheet

• Wright Medical Group Inc. Cash Flow

• Wright Medical Group Inc. Income Statement