Bellevue Asset Management AG
22.02.2024 - 10:30:05Medical technology back on track
| Bellevue Asset Management AG / Key word(s): Market Report 22.02.2024 / 10:30 CET/CEST Market commentary, February 22, 2024 Stock markets advanced across the board in January, extending the upswing that already began during the final quarter of 2023. Amid this environment, the Bellevue Medtech & Services Fund managed by Stefan Blum and Marcel Fritsch performed strongly and clearly outpaced the broad market indices. The prospects of further growth in 2024 are good. World and European stock markets continued to trade higher in January. The broad healthcare sector and the medical technology sector, buoyed by resurgent investor interest, delivered even better returns. The fundamental factors associated with the healthcare industry are appealing given the current macroeconomic environment. Not only that, the medtech markets are showing very pleasing growth rates. This can be traced on the one hand to the many new or just recently launched medtech products in the market with blockbuster potential and, on the other hand, to the backlog of surgical procedures that accumulated during the coronavirus pandemic, which – as predicted last year by Stefan Blum and Marcel Fritsch – will generate additional volume in 2024 and thus lead to a strong acceleration in overall growth for medtech companies. “We also anticipate a big boost in growth from the increasing use of artificial intelligence in the medical technology and healthcare services industries,” Stefan Blum adds. “The deployment of generative AI (GenAI) is spurring digitalization processes in medtech and healthcare services, resulting in better treatments and lowering administrative expense by up to 25%. These developments are likely to trigger a new wave of innovation.” Positive earnings expectations at medtech companies The encouraging discussions the two portfolio managers had with many executives from companies attending the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco also bolster their confidence for 2024. “Senior executives of major healthcare companies are at this conference and many of them gave an initial assessment of sales and earnings for the final quarter of 2023. These were generally characterized by strong growth momentum in surgical procedures and an optimistic outlook for the 2024 fiscal year,” Marcel Fritsch comments. From this angle, the strong performance in January by large-cap stocks such as Intuitive Surgical, Stryker, Boston Scientific, Medtronic, and Abbott does not come as a surprise. Intuitive Surgical pleased investors when it published fast growth rates for both robotic procedure volumes and new system sales and, especially, by announcing the da Vinci 5, its next-generation surgical robot. Mid- and small-cap medtech names such as Shockwave, Procept BioRobotics, Axonics and TransMedics also had a strong start to the year. Axonics received a takeover bid from Boston Scientific, which points to the clearly faster pace of M&A in the healthcare sector today. Mostly positive picture for healthcare services The general picture for healthcare services providers was also positive. HCA Healthcare, the largest hospital chain in the US, exceeded expectations by reporting higher procedure volumes, higher prices, and lower personnel costs. Most US health insurance stocks traded higher. Elevance, which is focused on employer-sponsored health insurance plans, reported better-than-expected profits thanks to a drop in medical costs and an increase in management’s earnings guidance for 2024. Centene and Cigna confirmed their earnings guidance at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. Humana, an insurer focused on Medicare Advantage plans for people older than 65, disappointed investors with its latest quarterly report and the earnings outlook it issued for 2024. Humana said demand for medical services and patient care in late 2023 was higher than anticipated and that its premium rates for 2024 had therefore been set too low. The two portfolio managers assume that this is a temporary, company-specific problem. Tailwind in 2024 powered by several factors From a fundamental standpoint, medtech companies, hospital operators and health insurers have been on a stable, above-average growth trajectory since the summer of 2023 and this growth should continue in 2024. Stefan Blum: “In the ongoing fourth-quarter reporting season, many medtech companies have published better-than-average quarterly results and many expect strong surgical procedure growth in 2024. The approval and subsequent launch of relevant new products will continue to bolster sales growth, too. Abbott’s TriClip, AVEIR and Libre products, Boston Scientific’s Farapulse PFA system and the next-generation da Vinci 5 surgical robot from Intuitive Surgical are but a few examples of products nearing market launch. We believe the sector's pricing power will remain intact, enabling price markups in the low single-digit percentage range. Margins are expected to increase thanks to the above-average sales growth and to further improvements in supply chains.” As for healthcare services providers, Marcel Fritsch remarked: “In the healthcare services space, we see substantial upside potential for US hospitals and health insurers. Hospitals will benefit from high patient volumes, higher prices, and only moderately higher labor costs. We expect health insurers to report rising premium income in the wake of solid membership growth and premium rate increases. Persisting high US government bond yields could have an accretive effect on earnings, too. Political risks are still low. We believe neither party will win a solid majority of seats in either chamber of Congress in the November elections.” Bellevue Medtech & Services should enjoy strong tailwinds in 2024. Numerous factors ranging from interest rate cuts in the US to attractive stock valuations will fuel these tailwinds. The fund should also benefit from widespread repositioning as investors sell last year's outperformers and buy higher-quality stocks instead. Moreover, in the past, meager growth prospects for the world economy have actually been a favorable backdrop for non-cyclical sectors such as healthcare. Bellevue Medtech & Services (LU0415391431): Click here for more information Contact Bellevue Asset Management AG, Seestrasse 16, 8700 Küsnacht/Zurich, Tanja Chicherio, tel. +41 44 267 67 07, tch@bellevue.ch, www.bellevue.ch Bellevue – Excellence in Specialty Investments Bellevue is a specialized asset manager listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange with core competencies covering healthcare strategies, entrepreneur strategies, alternative and traditional investment strategies. Established in 1993, Bellevue, a House of Investment Ideas staffed by 100 professionals, generates attractive investment returns and creates value added for clients and shareholders alike. Bellevue managed CHF 8.1 bn in assets as of June 30, 2023. Disclaimer: This document is neither directed to, nor intended for distribution or use by, any person or entity who is a citizen or resident of any locality, state, country or jurisdiction where such distribution, publication, availability or use would be contrary to law or regulation. The information and data presented in this document are not to be considered as an offer to buy or sell or an invitation to subscribe any securities or financial instruments. The information, opinions and estimates contained in this document reflect a judgment at the original date of release and are subject to change without notice. Liability for the accuracy or completeness of all information in this document is expressly disclaimed. This information does not take into account the specific or future investment objectives, the financial or tax situation or the particular needs of any specific recipient This document does not constitute independent investment research. Interested investors should always seek professional advice before making an investment decision. The information in this document is provided without any guarantees or warranties, for information purposes only, and is intended only for the personal use of the recipient. Every investment involves some risk, especially with regard to of fluctuations in value and return. Investments in foreign currency involve the additional risk that a foreign currency might lose value against an investor's reference currency. This document does not reflect all possible risk factors associated with an investment in the aforementioned securities or financial instruments. Historical performance data and financial market scenarios are no guarantee or indicator of current and future performance. The performance data are calculated without taking account of commissions and costs that result from subscriptions and redemptions. Commissions and costs adversely affect performance. Financial transactions should only be carried out after thorough study of the current prospectus and only on the basis of the most recently published prospectus and annual or semi-annual report. Bellevue Funds (Lux) SICAV is admitted for public distribution in Switzerland. Representative in Switzerland: Waystone Fund Services (Switzerland) SA, Avenue Villamont 17, CH-1005 Lausanne. Paying agent in Switzerland: DZ PRIVATBANK (Schweiz) AG, Münsterhof 12, P.O. Box, CH-8022 Zurich. Bellevue Funds (Lux) SICAV is admitted for public distribution in Austria. Paying and information agent: Zeidler Legal Process Outsourcing Limited., 19-22 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2, D02 X658, Ireland. The Bellevue Funds (Lux) SICAV is admitted for public distribution in Germany. Information agent: Zeidler Legal Process Outsourcing Ltd., SouthPoint, Herbert House, Harmony Row, Grand Canal Dock, Dublin 2, Ireland. Bellevue Funds (Lux) SICAV is registered in the CNMV registry of foreign collective investment schemes distributed in Spain, under registration number 938. Representative: atl Capital, Calle de Montalbán 9, ES-28014 Madrid. Prospectus, Key Investor Information Document (PRIIP-KIID), the articles of association as well as the annual and semi-annual reports of the Bellevue Funds under Luxembourg law are available free of charge from the above mentioned representative, paying, facilities and information agents as well as from Bellevue Asset Management AG, Seestrasse 16, CH-8700 Küsnacht. With respect to fund units distributed in or from Switzerland, the place of performance and jurisdiction is established at the registered office of the representative. End of Media Release |
