Embecta (Nasdaq:EMBC) shares took a hit this morning despite Street-beating first-quarter results and increased 2024 guidance.
Shares of EMBC fell 7.8% at $16.37 apiece as the market opened today. MassDevice’s MedTech 100 Index — which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies — opened today relatively even.
The Parsippany, New Jersey-based BD Diabetes spinoff posted profits of $20.1 million in the quarter. That equals 35¢ per share on sales of $277.3 million for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2023. Embecta recorded a 42.9% bottom-line slide on sales growth of 0.6%.
Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share came in at 61¢. That landed 16¢ ahead of projections on Wall Street, where analysts expected sales totaling $264.9 million.
Recent highlights for Embecta include the submission of a 510(k) premarket filing to the FDA for its proprietary insulin patch pump. The company developed a proprietary, disposable pump for people with type 2 diabetes.
The company provided analysts with some details on the makeup of the open-loop system last year. It also has a closed-loop version under development to follow. That version features an embedded algorithm that requires Embecta to run a clinical study. It has FDA breakthrough device designation and Embecta says its development continues to progress.
CEO Dev Kurdikar recently told Drug Delivery Business News that the pump “is going to be a vital part” of Embecta’s strategy.
“Building on our performance during 2023, Embecta delivered strong results for the first quarter of 2024,” Kurdikar said in a news release. “During the first quarter, I am pleased to report that we transitioned approximately sixty percent of our revenue to our own ERP system, shared service capability and distribution infrastructure, while delivering financial results that exceeded our expectations. Importantly, we also made progress on our strategic priorities, including the 510(k) filing of our open-loop patch pump with the FDA. Given our performance during the first quarter, coupled with our outlook for the remainder of the year, we are raising our guidance for certain key financial reporting metrics.”
Embecta increased its 2024 guidance, projecting revenues between $1.094 billion and $1.116 billion. The company previously projected between $1.085 billion and $1.105 billion. It set its adjusted EPS guidance for between $1.95 and $2.15, compared to a range of $1.90 to $2.10 previously.
