Boston Scientific Shares Popped: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of medical device builder Boston Scientific (NYS: BSX) look healthy and hale today, rising as high as 12.5% amid torrential trading action.

So what: Second-quarter non-GAAP earnings of $0.17 per share were 42% above the year-ago quarter and above management guidance for the period, helped by new product introductions and a strong performance by the neuromodulation division. The company also extended its share buyback program by a cool $1 billion and started to pay back some of its more than $4 billion in long-term debt out of strong cash flows.

Now what: Foolish health care champion Brian Orelli recently called Boston Scientific a "show-me company," and I think the company is showing us plenty right now. Though swooning a bit over the last three months, the stock has outperformed the market as well as close rivalsJohnson & Johnson (NYS: JNJ) and Medtronic (NYS: MDT) over the past year, though the gap to J&J largely disappears if you reinvest that company's generous dividends. Is this recently demoted two-star CAPS stock (out of five) getting a bad rap? I think Boston Scientific deserves better.

Interested in more info on Boston Scientific? Add it to your watchlist.

At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Anders Bylund holds no position in any of the companies discussed here. The Motley Fool owns shares of Johnson & Johnson and Medtronic. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Johnson & Johnson. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended creating a diagonal call position in Johnson & Johnson. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool is investors writing for investors.

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