Medtronic Goes for Shock Value

With any number of reports saying Americans are getting fatter, medical device company Medtronic (MDT Quote) may be positioned to see the bigness trend expand its own results.

Earlier this summer, the Minneapolis-based company agreed to acquire Transneuronix, a privately held medical device company and maker of the Transcend, a pacemakerlike device that is in U.S. trials to treat morbid obesity.

When the Transcend becomes a significant item on Medtronic's revenue statement, "assuming pacemaker-type pricing, the total market opportunity could easily be greater than $500 million," Glenn Reicin of Morgan Stanley wrote in a research report earlier this summer. ...