Topic: How To Invest

Q: Pat: Thanks for all the great advice over the years. Could you please give me your opinion on Mazor Robotics? Thank you very much.

Article Excerpt

A: Mazor Robotics (ADR), $47.14, symbol MZOR on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 26.4 million; Market cap: $1.4 billion; www.mazorrobotics.com), is an Israeli company that develops and markets computerized and imaging systems for spine and brain surgeries. Computer-assisted surgery enables the use of surgical instruments with high precision and minimal invasiveness. Those tools replace freehand procedures with robot-guided procedures. The system has been used to perform over 33,000 procedures worldwide across the full range of spinal surgery. However, surgeons continue to perform the vast majority of spinal operations “freehand;” that leaves a considerable growth opportunity for guided surgical robotics. To complement its flagship Renaissance robotic system, launched in 2011, Mazor then launched Mazor X—its second robotic system—in 2016. The company’s sales are in three areas: It sells the surgical robots themselves for about $1.1 million each; the disposables that the robots consume; and the support services. Mazor currently receives 57% of its income from the sale of new systems and 43% from disposables and services. Income…