The United States almost seems as though it is an oasis of economic growth in the present economic environment, and the present list of worst-performing medical device companies seems to reflect that.
Only one of the five worst-performing companies, Integer Holdings (formly Greatbatch), is from the United States.
Here are the medical device companies with the worst-performing stocks year-to-date, as of June 30:
1. Agfa-Gevaert: –44%
The Brussels, Belgium exchange that the Belgian multinational trades on was down nearly 5% overall for the first six months of 2016 amid the continued shakiness of the European Union’s economy—not to mention questions around its overall viability. Agfa-Gevaert appears to have been especially hard-hit in this environment. For the first quarter of 2016, revenue was down about 3% year-over-year, and profit was down 1%. Company officials, though, point out strong performance among the company’s growth engines, including Agfa-Gevaert HealthCare’s Direct Radiography and IT businesses. Efforts touted by the company include its joining of IBM’s Watson Health medical imaging collaborative, which seeks to bring cognitive imaging into daily practice.
