NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX) - Get Report rose 3.37% to $17.17 in early morning trading today after the company received FDA approval for its stroke prevention device, the WATCHMAN Left Atrial Appendage Closure Device.

The WATCHMAN Device offers a new stroke risk reduction option for high-risk patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation who are seeking an alternative to long-term warfarin therapy, the company explained on Friday, when it announced the approval.

The device will be made available to U.S. centers involved in the company's clinical studies and additional, specialized centers as physicians are trained on the implant procedure, the company noted.

"We're thrilled we finally got it across the goal line," Boston Scientific Senior VP Kenneth Stein told the Wall Street Journal in an interview. "It's a complex device for the agency to evaluate, and that's part of the reason it was more arduous than what we're used to with other devices," he said.

Boston Scientific is a developer, manufacturer and marketer of medical devices that are used in a range of interventional medical specialties. The company operates in three segments, including Cardiovascular, Rhythm Management and MedSurg.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORP as a Buy with a ratings score of B-. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORP (BSX) a BUY. This is driven by multiple strengths, which we believe should have a greater impact than any weaknesses, and should give investors a better performance opportunity than most stocks we cover. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, solid stock price performance, good cash flow from operations, expanding profit margins and largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income."

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:

• BSX's revenue growth has slightly outpaced the industry average of 1.1%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 2.7%. This growth in revenue does not appear to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, displayed by a decline in earnings per share.
• Compared to its closing price of one year ago, BSX's share price has jumped by 31.13%, exceeding the performance of the broader market during that same time frame. Regarding the stock's future course, although almost any stock can fall in a broad market decline, BSX should continue to move higher despite the fact that it has already enjoyed a very nice gain in the past year.
• Net operating cash flow has significantly increased by 61.17% to $440.00 million when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORP has also vastly surpassed the industry average cash flow growth rate of -7.31%.
• The gross profit margin for BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORP is currently very high, coming in at 74.40%. It has increased from the same quarter the previous year. Regardless of the strong results of the gross profit margin, the net profit margin of -15.84% is in-line with the industry average.
• The debt-to-equity ratio is somewhat low, currently at 0.66, and is less than that of the industry average, implying that there has been a relatively successful effort in the management of debt levels. Despite the fact that BSX's debt-to-equity ratio is low, the quick ratio, which is currently 0.62, displays a potential problem in covering short-term cash needs.

• You can view the full analysis from the report here: BSX Ratings Report