Abbott Labs (ABT) Stock Gaining on Absorbable Stent Effectiveness
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Abbott Laboratories (ABT) - Get Report are rising 0.8% to $42.22 this afternoon on the effectiveness of the company's new biodegradable stent, Absorb.
Approved by the FDA last Tuesday, Absorb fully dissolves in the body a few years following implantation unlike traditional metal stents. Stents are used to prop open diseased blood vessels to allow blockages to pass, and metal-based treatments tend to cause scarring in vessels.
Absorb was used in its first surgery on Wednesday, July 6 in Arizona, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Analysts at Barclays called Abbott Labs a "premium asset at a discount" in an analyst note released this morning. The firm has an "overweight" rating and a $48 price target on the stock.
Absorb was one of the first significant advances in heart stents in over a decade. 850,000 patients in the U.S. are treated with stents every year.
Separately, TheStreet Ratings rated this stock as a "hold" with a ratings score of C+.
The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its reasonable valuation levels, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and expanding profit margins.
However, TheStreet Ratings also finds weaknesses including deteriorating net income, weak operating cash flow and a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself.
You can view the full analysis from the report here: ABT
Recently, TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author.