Medtronic moves
Last week Medtronic acquired Cardiocom, a privately held company based in Chanhassen that provides remote monitoring of patients with chronic disease. The $200 million acquisition is a small but important move as the Fridley-based medical technology giant invests in health care services. "It's great that Medtronic is trying to expand beyond just the world of implants," Jeff Windau, an analyst with Edward Jones, told the Star Tribune last week. "It gets them more involved with patient care."
Restart should aid Gevo shares
Mike Ritzenthaler, a Piper Jaffray analyst, covers Gevo Inc. The Colorado-based biofuels company is starting to make isobutanol at a converted ethanol plant in Luverne, Minn. Corn-based isobutanol is a potentially more lucrative alcohol than ethanol, but production had halted for eight months as the company corrected production problems.
Gevo shares have been trading at under $2, and Ritzenthaler lowered his stock price target to $5, from $9. With production restarted, Ritzenthaler recently reaffirmed his "overweight" rating, saying that "continued execution on the Luverne restart is a must for the stock to find a modicum of momentum."
Patrick Kennedy
