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Haemonetics' (HAE) Plasma Growth, Innovation Aid Performance

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Haemonetics (HAE - Free Report) has been banking on growing market demand for its products like Plasma, Thromboelastography (TEG), Hemostasis Management and the Vascular Closure business. The stock carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Within Haemonetics’ Plasma business unit, the demand for source plasma continues to grow with an expanding end-user market for plasma-derived biopharmaceuticals. The business also offers software solutions to support the operations of these dedicated source plasma collection centers.

Over the past few quarters, the company has been benefiting from the strong momentum in collections. Haemonetics recently reported second-quarter fiscal 2024 results. The quarter marked the eighth consecutive quarter of U.S. growth exceeding historical seasonality, driven by an industry striving to double collections by 2025 and the rising demand for plasma-based medicines.

In the first half of fiscal 2024, software revenues increased 32%, driven by additional upgrades to the NexLynk software and market share gains, which advanced the company’s industry leadership as the only provider of end-to-end plasma collection solutions. Plasma revenues grew 11% in the fiscal second quarter. Among other developments, North America disposables grew 9%, disproportionately driven by growth in volume and price among customers on NexSys with Persona. The company took the necessary steps to support the demand for disposables and reinforce its market-leading position through additional innovation that further reduces the cost per liter.

Haemonetics’ hospital portfolio is evolving and helping to create new opportunities for growth and diversification. Each of the four product lines has a leading market position and a mission of helping hospitals and clinicians provide the highest standard of patient care while at the same time reducing operating and procedural costs and helping decision-makers in hospitals optimize blood acquisition, storage and usage in critical settings. The company is taking impactful steps to support growth in the Hospital business, which contributes to broadening its global presence and retaining industry leadership.

In terms of performance in the fiscal second quarter, hospital revenues increased 14%, while Vascular Closure grew 30%, driven by new account openings, both in electrophysiology and interventional cardiology. The company has been seeing higher utilization rates, backed by its clinical efforts and increased procedure volumes in U.S. hospitals. Internationally, the products are gaining recognition in Germany and Italy, while VASCADE MVP’s commercialization in Japan marked a strong start. Cell Salvage also had a strong quarter, capitalizing on the increased utilization in U.S. hospitals. Transfusion management witnessed continued market share gains in North America and Europe.

Over the past year, shares of Haemonetics have lost 1% against the industry’s 3.1% growth.

On the flip side, the uncertain economic scenario continues to challenge Haemonetics. The company has been progressing with blood management solutions despite economic challenges. Moreover, a stronger dollar, causing significant currency fluctuations, has been affecting the company’s outcome over the past few quarters and no respite is expected in the near term. These factors raise concern for Haemonetics to realize all the benefits of the 2020 Operational Excellence Program.

Nearly 25.7% of the company’s fiscal second quarter total sales were generated outside the United States. International sales are largely conducted in local currencies, mainly the Japanese Yen, Euro and Chinese Yuan. Hence, Haemonetics’ operational results are impacted by changes in foreign exchange rates, particularly in the value of the yen and euro relative to the U.S. dollar.

Other Key Picks

Some other top-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are DaVita Inc. (DVA - Free Report) , Biodesix (BDSX - Free Report) and Integer Holdings Corporation (ITGR - Free Report) .

DaVita, sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present, has an estimated long-term growth rate of 18.3%. DVA’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 36.55%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

DaVita’s shares have risen 37.7% over the past year compared with the industry’s 5.1% growth.

Biodesix, carrying a Zacks Rank of 2 at present, has an estimated growth rate of 32.3% for 2024. BDSX’s earnings surpassed estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed the same in one, delivering an average surprise of 9.76%.

Biodesix’s shares have gained 8.6% in the past year against the industry’s 11.2% decline.

Integer Holdings, sporting a Zacks Rank of 1 at present, has an estimated long-term growth rate of 15.8%. ITGR’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 11.9%.

Integer Holdings’ shares have rallied 26% over the past year against the industry’s 3.7% decline.

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