Boston Scientific Corp. shares rose 1.5% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the medical device company beat estimates for its first-quarter earnings and offered upbeat guidance. The company said it had net income of $327 million, or 23 cents a share, in the quarter, up from $11 million, or 1 cent a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to 37 cents, ahead of the 31-cent FactSet consensus. Sales rose to $2.752 billion from $2.543 billion a year ago, also ahead of the FactSet consensus of $2.616 billion. Sales at the company’s endoscopy segment rose 12.9% to $499 million, while sales at the urology and pelvic health segment rose 8.7% to $361 million. In the company’s medsurg business, sales rose 11.1% to $860 million, while sales at the rhythm and neuro segment rose 6.8% to $750 million. Sales at the company’s cardiovascular segment rose 10% to $1.129 billion. The company is now expecting full-year sales to grow 16% to 19% and for adjusted EPS to range from $1.53 to $1.60 a share. For the second quarter, it expects sales to grow 46% to 50% and for adjusted EPS to range from 36 cents to 38 cents. The FactSet consensus is for second-quarter EPS of 35 cents and full-year EPS of $1.54. Shares have gained 18% in the year to date, while the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF has fallen 1% and the S&P 500 has gained 11.5%.
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