For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 11, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Boston Scientific Corporation (BSX), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Medtronic Inc. (MDT), Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and St. Jude Medical Inc. (STJ).

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Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:

BSX Settles, Lowers Results

Boston Scientific Corporation (BSX) settled its $296 million lawsuit with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) related to product advisories issued by its Guidant subsidiary in 2005. The litigation pertained to alleged violations of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic

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Boston Scientific Corporation (BSX) settled its $296 million lawsuit with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) related to product advisories issued by its Guidant subsidiary in 2005. The litigation pertained to alleged violations of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by Guidant. The allegations were reported prior to Boston’s acquisition of Guidant in 2006. Boston has recorded the litigation expense in its third quarter of fiscal 2009 results and updated its income statement accordingly. The expense has lowered the company’s GAAP earnings per share by 19 cents into a loss per share of 6 cents in the third quarter of 2009. Adjusted figures remained unaffected by this charge. Boston has also lowered its full fiscal 2009 GAAP earnings per share guidance to a range of 23 to 28 cents, compared to its prior guidance of 43 to 48 cents. The company’s adjusted earnings per share guidance ...

ATS Medical, Inc. (ATSI) reported a third quarter 2009 net loss of 1 cent per share, in-line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate but better than the year-ago loss per share of 6 cents. Total revenues for the reported quarter were $18.8 million, increasing 17.3% year over year. Excluding an unfavorable foreign currency translation (FX), total revenues increased 19.4% year over year. Growth was broad-based across its major business segments. Heart valve therapy revenues increased 20.5% year over year to $14.2 million. In this segment, Mechanical valve revenues increased 10% year over year to $11.6 million. This was due to higher demand for the ATS Open Pivot Mechanical Heart Valve in Asia and success from the recent launch of the AP360 valve in Japan. Tissue valve revenues were $1.4 million, compared to $0.3 million in the year-ago quarter. Heart valve repair revenues increased 29% year over ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 22, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Morgan Stanley (MS), Goldman Sachs (GS), St. Jude Medical, Inc. (STJ), Medtronic Inc. (MDT) and Boston Scientific Corporation (BSX).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Wednesday’s AnalystBlog:

Morgan Stanley Finally Profits

Morgan Stanley (MS) reported third-quarter 2009 income of $498 million this morning or 38 cents per share, compared with a loss of $159 million or $1.37 per share in the prior quarter and an income of $7.7 billion, or $7.38 per

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St. Jude Medical, Inc. (STJ) today reported financial results for the third quarter of 2009 before the market opened. Earnings per share came in at 59 cents, compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 58 cents and the year-ago earnings of 54 cents. Sales Net sales in the reported quarter increased 7% year over year to approximately $1.2 billion. Excluding an unfavorable foreign exchange translation (FX), net sales increased 10% year over year. Growth was witnessed across all the business segments. However, the company’s domestic revenues were below expectation primarily due to lack of purchase of cardiac rhythm management (CRM) devices by roughly 50 hospitals in the U.S. In terms of business segments: CRM revenues increased 2% year over year to $690 million. Growth was led by higher demand for both implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) and pacemaker. ICD revenues increased 2% year over year to ...

Boston Scientific Corporation (BSX) yesterday reported financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 after the market close. Earnings per share were 19 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5 cents and the year-ago earnings by 3 cents. Sales Net sales in the quarter were $2.0 billion, increasing approximately 2% year over year. Excluding an unfavorable foreign currency translation (FX), net sales increased roughly 3% year over year. On a geographic basis, U.S. sales contributed roughly 58% of total revenues and increased 4% year over year. International sales increased 2% year over year. Growth in net sales can be attributed to higher demand for the company’s Cardiac Rhythm Management (CRM), Endosurgery and Neuromodulation products, with revenues increasing 6%, 8%, and 21%, respectively, in these segments. This was partly offset by lower sales of Cardiovascular, Neurovascular and Electrophysiology products. In the CRM space, ...

The global medical devices industry is fairly large and is valued at roughly $223 billion, with the U.S. accounting for approximately 41%. The industry is divided into different categories such as Cardiology, Oncology, Neuro, Orthopedic, Aesthetic Devices and Healthcare IT. In the medical devices space, we recommend that investors focus on companies providing life-sustaining products. These companies provide a strong recurring stream of revenues as patients are unable to forego these products. Furthermore, investors should allocate funds to companies with high-earnings-quality profiles. Large companies with a wide portfolio of products are also better poised for good returns. These companies are capable of withstanding the current economic recession. Another area which is interestingly poised for growth these days is Healthcare IT. The landscape has changed since the Obama Administration passed a health care stimulus package to encourage hospitals and physicians practices to modernize their health record keeping. ...

ATS Medical, Inc. (ATSI) yesterday received the CE Mark approval for marketing the ATS CryoMaze 10-S Surgical Cryoablation Probe used for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias in the European Union.   The new product complements the current ATS CryoMaze Probes by adding a linear cryoablation probe that provides more controlled stiffness. This enables surgeons to have more probe leverage so that they can achieve contact with the targeted tissue that is difficult to reach.   The ATS CryoMaze 10-S Surgical Cryoablation Probe achieves the coldest probe temperatures needed for cardiac arrhythmia surgery. The argon-based cryoablation system can reach a temperature of -1600 Celsius versus nitrous-oxide systems that can achieve temperatures of -650 Celsius only. The colder probe temperatures provide faster and deeper lesions compared to the traditional linear lesions.   The ATS CryoMaze 10-S Surgical Cryoablation Probe can be easily shaped by hand without the need of ...

St. Jude Medical, Inc. (STJ) received the CE (Conformite Europeenne) Mark of approval for the world’s smallest, longest-lasting rechargeable deep brain stimulation (DBS) device, known as the Brio neurostimulator. The device is used for treating symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. The Brio neurostimulator has 10-year battery longevity. This provides patients sustainable therapy for a longer period and maximizes the time between device replacement procedures. According to the European Parkinson’s Disease Association, Parkinson’s disease affects approximately 6.3 million people globally. People between 40 and 70 years of age, with an average age of 60, are mostly affected by this disease. The Brio neurostimulator approval enhances the breadth of St. Jude’s product offerings in the deep brain stimulation systems and increases the company’s top-line. St. Jude is a leading medical device manufacturer that designs, manufactures and distributes medical devices to treat cardiovascular and neurological conditions. St. Jude ...

Boston Scientific Corporation (BSX) yesterday announced that it will settle fourteen patent infringement lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) related to the use of stents in treating heart disease for $716.3 million. The company will make use of cash held in its legal reserve to make the payment.

The payment will be made to Johnson & Johnson's subsidiary, Cordis Corporation. Boston will report a substantial portion of the payment as a special item in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Boston is a market leader in the stent market. A stent is a metal tube used in surgical operations to open-up blocked arteries. Some of these fourteen settled lawsuits are related to Boston's famous Palmaz-NIR suit, particularly the NIR suit.

We think that despite the huge settlement charges Boston will benefit from settling these long-pending litigations, which had created an overhang on the company's operations. Furthermore, the company has already hedged

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