Mediocre Q4 sales for Thoratec's HeartMate LVAD
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Thoratec ended last week on a negative note as its share price fell 8% to close at $9.83 on Friday (December 3), the day after the company forecast flat fourth-quarter sales of its HeartMate XVE left ventricular assist device (LVAD). Implant rates of the product for the first two months of the fourth quarter have been similar to those of the previous quarters in 2004, which ranged between 34 and 42 implants per quarter, according to Thoratec.