Topic: How To Invest

Q: I’m looking at Medtronics plc, a medical device maker. What are your thoughts? Thanks.

Article Excerpt

A: Medtronic plc, $130.12, symbol MDT on New York (Shares outstanding: 1.3 billion; Market cap: $175.4 billion; www.medtronic.com), develops, makes and distributes a wide range of healthcare-related devices and equipment. Based on revenue, the company is the world’s largest medical device provider. Medtronic operates in 150 countries and employs over 90,000 people. For tax purposes, it makes its head office in Dublin, Ireland, but has its operational headquarters in Fridley, Minnesota. The company has four main segments: the Cardiac and Vascular Group (35% of total revenue) includes pacemakers, defibrillators and cardiac resynchronization therapy devices; the Minimally Invasive Therapies Group (30%) sells surgical products, such as surgical stapling devices, vessel sealing instruments, wound closure, and electrosurgery products, as well as ventilators; the Restorative Therapies Group (27%) offers products for spinal surgeons, neurosurgeons, neurologists, and other specialized surgeries; and the Diabetes Group sells insulin pumps, consumables, and glucose monitoring systems (8%). Roughly 51% of the company’s sales are from the U.S., 32% from other developed…