ABIOMED (ABMD) to Report Q1 Earnings: What's in the Offing?

ABIOMED, Inc. ABMD is scheduled to release first-quarter fiscal 2021 results on Aug 6, before the opening bell. The company delivered an earnings surprise of 4.2% in the last reported quarter. Its earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average beat being 4.4%.

Q1 Estimates Picture

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ABIOMED’s fiscal first-quarter revenues is pegged at $138.2 million, suggesting a fall of 33.4% from the year-ago quarter. The consensus estimates for earnings stands at 21 cents per share, indicating a sharp decline of 79% from the year-ago reported figure.

Factors to Drive Q1 Results

ABIOMED is likely to have witnessed a fall in U.S. Impella product revenues in the fiscal first quarter due to a drop in usage of Impella heart pumps resulting from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nonetheless, the treatment success rates of ABIOMED’s SmartAssist, Impella Connect, IQ Impella Quality Assurance Database and Impella 5.0 is expected to get reflected in the quarterly results.

The commercial rollout of the Impella 5.5 is expected to have progressed steadily through the fiscal first quarter. Moreover, Impella 2.5 and CP with SmartAssist are currently in high demand. These are likely to have positively impacted the company’s performance in the quarter to be reported.

In June 2020, the company’s Impella RP attained the FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for treating COVID-19-related right heart failure or decompensation, including pulmonary embolism (PE).In the same month, the company announced that the FDA has approved investigational device exemption application to initiate an early feasibility study with a first-in-human trial of the company’s 9 French (Fr) Impella ECP heart pump.

ABIOMED, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

ABIOMED, Inc. price-eps-surprise | ABIOMED, Inc. Quote

In the same month, the company launched a revolutionary digital education platform called CAMP PCI, which stands for Coronary Artery & Myocardial Protected Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

All these positive developments are likely to have contributed to the company’s topline during the fiscal first quarter.

However, it is important to note here that the entire fiscal first quarter bore the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting ininterventional cardiology procedures taking a hit. This, is turn, might have weighed on the company’s Impella product line in the yet-to-be-reported quarter.

Moreover, the company has been facing rising pricing pressure due to intensifying competition in key markets. This, in turn, is likely to have limited the company’s margin expansion capabilities.

Earnings Whispers

Per our proven model, a combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. This is not the case here as you will see below.

Earnings ESP: ABIOMED has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: ABIOMED carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Stocks Worth a Look

Here are a few medical stocks worth considering as they have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation IART has an Earnings ESP of +20.69% and a Zacks Rank of 3.

Nevro Corp. NVRO has an Earnings ESP of +15.17% and a Zacks Rank of 3.

GW Pharmaceuticals GWPH has an Earnings ESP of +17.38% and a Zacks Rank of 3.

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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.