Analyst Joanne Wuensch upgraded Stryker to “Outperform” from “Market Perform.” She wrote that the orthopedic surgery market is stable, and spending by hospitals, which dropped sharply in 2009, has reached its lowest point. Wuensch raised her price target to $59 per share from $48.
In the first three quarters of 2009, about 61 percent of Stryker’s revenue came from sales of spinal, knee, hip, and other implants. The rest came from sales of medical equipment.
For 2010, Wuensch raised her profit estimate for Stryker to $3.36 per share from $3.26. She now expects the company to earn $3.83 per share in 2011, up from $3.63. According to Thomson Reuters, analysts are forecasting profits of $3.28 and $3.68 per share for those years, respectively.
Shares of Stryker rose $1.58, or 3.1 percent, to $51.95 in afternoon trading.
