Will BioTelemetry Inc (BEAT) Beat Its Recent Performance? MDT & STJ

Small cap cardiac monitoring stock BioTelemetry Inc (NASDAQ: BEAT) has more than tripled in value since the start of the year – far outperforming large cap cardiac peers like Medtronic, Inc (NYSE: MDT) and St. Jude Medical, Inc (NYSE: STJ). We have also had BioTelemetry in our SmallCap Network Elite Opportunity (SCN EO) portfolio since June 12 and even we have not been late to the party as we are sitting on a 96.67% gain since then. But will the beat go on for investors and what about the performance of large caps Medtronic and St. Jude Medical?

What Is BioTelemetry Inc?

Small cap BioTelemetry calls itself a leading wireless medical technology company focused on the delivery of health information to improve quality of life and reduce the cost of care by providing cardiac monitoring services and original equipment manufacturing with a primary focus on cardiac monitoring devices and centralized cardiac core laboratory services. More specifically, BioTelemetry's CardioNet is the world's leading supplier of Mobile Cardiac Outpatient Telemetry™ (MCOT™) – a next-generation ambulatory cardiac monitoring service with beat-to-beat, real time analysis, automatic arrhythmia detection and wireless ECG transmission. It should also be mentioned that in April 2013, BioTelemetry's predecessor company, CardioNet, Inc., announced plans to adopt a holding company structure to more effectively facilitate ongoing growth plans:

Meanwhile and for benchmarking, large cap Medtronic, Inc's Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management (CRDM) division is the company's oldest and largest division while large cap St. Jude Medical, Inc has four major focus areas that include: cardiac rhythm management, atrial fibrillation, cardiovascular and neuromodulation. 

What You Need to Know About BioTelemetry

Last week, The Street pointed out that during the recent rise of BioTelemetry, shares have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs which, for traders and technicians, is considered to be bullish technical price action. The Street concluded that shares are within range of triggering a major breakout trade with possible upside targets being the $13 to $15 a share level.

Even if you aren't a technician, you should be aware that BioTelemetry is scheduled to report earnings on Monday, November 4th or in a little more than three weeks time. The last time BioTelemetry reported back at the end of July, the company reported having serviced record patient volume for the second consecutive quarter and had $19.3 million in cash along with no debt as of June 30. More specifically, revenue for the second quarter increased 17.0% to $32.1 million while adjusted net income was $0.6 million verses an adjusted net loss of $0.3 million.

Finally, it should be mentioned that what really sent BioTelemetry's shares skyrocketing last summer was an announcement that health insurer UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company, part of the UnitedHealth Group Inc (NYSE: UNH), would be covering its heart monitoring devices with the three year agreement covering UnitedHealth-affiliated companies, including Medicare and Medicaid plans UnitedHealth manages. That was great news because UnitedHealthcare presently covers over 70 million Americans while many of the monitoring devices are used by Medicare beneficiaries as Medicare covers part of the cost of the devices.

Share Performance: BioTelemetry Inc vs. MDT & STJ

On Wednesday, small cap BioTelemetry rose 1.77% to $9.44 (BEAT has a 52 week trading range of $2.00 to $11.27 a share) for a market cap of $241.20 million plus the stock is up 329.1% since the start of the year, up 280.6% over the past year and down 60.2% over the past five years. Here is a look at BioTelemetry's performance verses that of large caps Medtronic, Inc and St. Jude Medical, Inc:

As you can see from the above chart, conservative investors would have made money from long term investments in Medtronic and St. Jude Medical while BioTelemetry has produced very good returns for those who got in recently.

Finally, here is a look at the latest technical charts for all three cardiac stocks:

The Bottom Line. It might not be too late for traders and investors alike to get in on the party at BioTelemetry as the stock continues to look strong heading into earnings in three weeks. 

SmallCap Network Elite Opportunity (SCN EO) has an open position in BEAT. To find out what other open positions SCN EO currently has, and to learn why so many traders and investors are relying on this premium subscription service, click here to find out more.