About Small Caps Article of the Week
Written by Allen Caron
In a recent article on HuffPost Live, Dr. Ibrahim Ozbolat, co-director of the University of Iowa’s Advanced Manufacturing Technology Group, spoke about how 3D printing technology’s rapid advancements have led to great strides in organ replacement with the use of a technology he calls “bio printing” that could create whole new organs.
We’ve covered organ replacement and artificial organs before, and technological advances means this sector might continue to be a viable one. Here is a look at the small cap stock companies in this sector we’ve covered before and how they’re doing-
Carmat SAS (EPA: ALCAR), an international small cap company, implanted its first artificial heart in a 75-year-old man in France, and we’ve been monitoring its progress ever since. This test examines how long the heart can survive in a human subject and has significant repercussions for the future of artificial heart technology. A press release from Paris states that the
“first implantation was positive, with the patient surviving for 74 days within the framework of a trial where the benchmark for success was 30 days. The approved medical centers are continuing to assess the next patients for the ongoing clinical trial.“
This month Carmant also received the Mechatronics Award of the Decade in honor of the company’s groundbreaking work in artificial heart technology. ALCAR closed January 20th at $107.68. ALCAR closed July 7th at $71.90, up $0.30, with a market cap of $301.86 million. Its 52 week trading range is $54.54 – $147.40.
HeartWare International, Inc* (NASDAQ:HTWR), based in Framingham, MA, is a company that created what it calls the HeartWare Ventricular Assist Device, or HVAD, which is capable of pumping up to 10 liters of blood per minute. HeartWare received a warning letter from the FDA this year but is taking steps to address it, according to a news release this month, where the company stated it will be addressing the FDA’s concerns by implementing
“new and enhanced systems and procedures, and will perform additional actions as may be required to resolve the issues raised in the FDA communication.”
Doug Godshall, President and Chief Executive Officer, said of the warning letter,
“HeartWare is committed to providing the highest quality products in compliance with FDA regulations to ensure the safety and welfare of patients who rely on our devices, and we are dedicating the resources necessary to address the items discussed in the letter.“
HTWR closed January 20th at $101.26. HTWR closed July 7th at $87.30, up $0.40, with a market cap of $1.46 billion. Its 52 week trading range is $69.31 – $105.84.
Minneapolis, MN-based Vascular Solutions, Inc (NASDAQ:VASC) is a small cap company that creates medical devices for doctors, providing more than 80 products in three major categories: hemostat (blood clotting), catheter, and veins. In May, VASC participated in the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2014 Health Care Conference in Las Vegas, NV, with James Hennen, Chief Financial Officer of Vascular Solutions, giving a presentation. VASC closed January 20th at $24.33. VASC closed July 7th at $22.21, down $0.23, with a market cap of $377.11 million. Its 52 week trading range is $14.84 – $28.21.
As more technological advancements are being made in artificial organs and medical technology, these companies and others in the sector might be some small cap stocks to watch. Those interested in healthcare investing and even technology investing may want to keep an eye on this space.
