Analysts at Leerink Partners recently hosted executives from St. Jude Medical for an investor day. Analyst Danielle Antalffy summed up the visit in a note last week.

St. Jude’s director of investor relations, J.C. Weigelt, brought to analysts’ attention three key areas of growth for the Little Canada-based medical device company: CardioMEMs and STJ’s implantable heart failure monitoring system; and the Atrial Fibrillation and Neuromodulation businesses.

In addition to those growth areas, Weigelt noted the company’s capital allocation structure — it has plenty of cash on hand and capacity to borrow — will allow St. Jude to ramp up its mergers and acquisitions activity.

“We would expect STJ to largely focus on technology, that is leverageable within the existing business vs ‘bigger is better,’ ” Antalffy said.

Patrick Kennedy

 

Medtronic momentum is being watched

The second quarter earnings season is nearing its conclusion. The only Minnesota company to report earnings last week was Medtronic PLC, whose management headquarters are in Fridley and headquarters are now in Ireland after the Covidien merger.

Medtronic’s revenue for the fourth quarter ended April 15, and its guidance for fiscal year 2016 were largely in line with Wall Street expectations, but it appears analysts will be closely watching the integration of Covidien going forward.

Wedbush Securities analyst Tao Levy sent out a research note after participating in Medtronic’s fourth-quarter conference call. He acknowledged important product launches, but wrote: “Most importantly for MDT will be the successful integration of Covidien over the coming quarters while maintaining both companies’ recent momentum.”

Levy has a “neutral” rating on Medtronic.

Patrick Kennedy

 

Buffalo Wild Wings gets a nod on stocks

Sterne Agee analyst Lynne Collier chose Buffalo Wild Wings as her stock of the week last week and reiterated her “buy” rating.

She pointed to several ­factors, including same-store sales growth and the restaurant’s “unique positioning in the casual dining space [that] will continue to drive outperformance and market share gains.”

While acknowledging “near-term head winds” such as high chicken wing prices, innovations such as tablets on the tables, handheld devices for servers and a “differentiated loyalty program” will work to Buffalo Wild Wings’ ­advantage.

Analysts also are expecting additional growth in ­franchises.