MAKO Surgical 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 company MAKO Surgical (NAS: MAKO) climbed 11% on Monday after its quarterly sales and full-year guidance topped Wall Street expectations.

So what: MAKO sold 18 of its RIO surgical platform systems during the fourth quarter -- versus 13 systems sold in the year-ago period -- suggesting that its technology continues to be adopted at a brisk rate. In fact, a total of 2,258 MAKOplasty procedures were performed during the quarter, representing a whopping 97% jump over the procedures performed during the fourth quarter of 2010.

Now what: Looking ahead to 2012, management expects to sell between 56 and 62 RIO systems and that its customers will perform 11,000 to 13,000 MAKOplasty procedures. "We are pleased with our strong RIO system sales and the interest in our hip application during the fourth quarter," said CEO Maurice Ferre. "In addition, we believe the increased MAKOplasty procedure volume and utilization trends continue to demonstrate the clinical value of our technology." With MAKO shares still down about 25% from October highs, investors might even have time to buy into the optimism.

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At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Brian Pacampara owns no position in any of the companies mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of MAKO. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of MAKO. 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 Fool's disclosure policy always gets a perfect score.

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