Is NuVasive the Perfect Stock?

Updated

Every investor would love to stumble upon the perfect stock. But will you ever really find a stock that provides everything you could possibly want?

One thing's for sure: You'll never discover truly great investments unless you actively look for them. Let's discuss the ideal qualities of a perfect stock, then decide if NuVasive (NAS: NUVA) fits the bill.

The quest for perfection
Stocks that look great based on one factor may prove horrible elsewhere, making due diligence a crucial part of your investing research. The best stocks excel in many different areas, including these important factors:

  • Growth. Expanding businesses show healthy revenue growth. While past growth is no guarantee that revenue will keep rising, it's certainly a better sign than a stagnant top line.

  • Margins. Higher sales mean nothing if a company can't produce profits from them. Strong margins ensure that company can turn revenue into profit.

  • Balance sheet. At debt-laden companies, banks and bondholders compete with shareholders for management's attention. Companies with strong balance sheets don't have to worry about the distraction of debt.

  • Money-making opportunities. Return on equity helps measure how well a company is finding opportunities to turn its resources into profitable business endeavors.

  • Valuation. You can't afford to pay too much for even the best companies. By using normalized figures, you can see how a stock's simple earnings multiple fits into a longer-term context.

  • Dividends. For tangible proof of profits, a check to shareholders every three months can't be beat. Companies with solid dividends and strong commitments to increasing payouts treat shareholders well.

With those factors in mind, let's take a closer look at NuVasive.

Factor

What We Want to See

Actual

Pass or Fail?

Growth

5-year annual revenue growth > 15%

46%

Pass

1-year revenue growth > 12%

17.8%

Pass

Margins

Gross margin > 35%

81.5%

Pass

Net margin > 15%

15.4%

Pass

Balance sheet

Debt to equity < 50%

104.1%

Fail

Current ratio > 1.3

7.15

Pass

Opportunities

Return on equity > 15%

17.7%

Pass

Valuation

Normalized P/E < 20

40.35

Fail

Dividends

Current yield > 2%

0%

Fail

5-year dividend growth > 10%

0%

Fail

Total score

6 out of 10

Source: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's. Total score = number of passes.

With a score of six, NuVasive posts a fairly healthy showing. The company is a pioneer in spinal surgery, but it has gotten quite a bit of bad news lately.

NuVasive has developed a minimally disruptive procedure for doing spinal surgery, which requires delicate work in order to avoid major complications. According to the company, the procedure speeds return to normal activity while minimizing blood loss and the length of hospital stays. Although NuVasive doesn't use robotic technology for its procedure, its delicate nature invites comparisons with Intuitive Surgical (NAS: ISRG) and MAKO Surgical (NAS: MAKO) , both of which use tech-based intelligence for similarly sensitive surgical procedures.

Unfortunately, NuVasive recently lost a big patent infringement case against Medtronic (NYS: MDT) . A jury awarded more than $100 million in damages to Medtronic, and the eventual amount could be even higher because the verdict only covers up to 2010. Moreover, the judgment calls into question NuVasive's future, as it will have to get a license from Medtronic to continue using its technology in NuVasive's products.

Meanwhile, though, NuVasive is trying to move forward. It recently announced a bid to buy Impulse Monitoring, whose technology could make doctors more willing to try NuVasive's products. Until the dispute with Medtronic gets resolved, however, investors are going to stay jumpy -- and NuVasive won't be able to prove that it can inch closer to perfection.

Keep searching
No stock is a sure thing, but some stocks are a lot closer to perfect than others. By looking for the perfect stock, you'll go a long way toward improving your investing prowess and learning how to separate out the best investments from the rest.

Click here to add NuVasive to My Watchlist, which can find all of our Foolish analysis on it and all your other stocks.

Finding the perfect stock is only one piece of a successful investment strategy. Get the big picture by taking a look at our "13 Steps to Investing Foolishly."

At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Dan Caplinger doesn't own shares of the companies mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Medtronic. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of MAKO Surgical and Intuitive Surgical. 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 Fool has a disclosure policy.

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