For healthcare stock GE Healthcare (NASDAQ:GEHC), it was a long road getting out from under the shadow of GE proper. But it’s been making quite some headway, as demonstrated by its recent third quarter earnings. In fact, those earnings turned out so well that GE Healthcare hiked its full year forecast, and also brought in an extra 4% in Tuesday afternoon’s trading.
That’s down somewhat from the day’s highs, when GE Healthcare shares were up around 7% in the morning’s trading session closer to when GE Healthcare released its earnings. GE Healthcare posted earnings of $0.99 per share, which readily cleared analyst expectations of $0.90 per share. Revenue, meanwhile, was on the rise, and broke through expectations. GE Healthcare posted revenue of $4.82 billion, beating analysts’ consensus of $4.8 billion. In response, GE Healthcare hiked its 2023 guidance from a range of $3.70 to $3.85 to a new range of $3.75 to $3.85. With analysts expecting $3.79, that slightly improves the chance for a beat in the full-year.
While there are several reasons for the uptick—particularly in terms of imaging and other medical devices—there’s one lesser-known reason to keep in mind. GE Healthcare recently teamed up with reLink Medical to help reduce waste in medical devices. Like any other device, eventually these become obsolete and need replacement, even if they still work. That’s why the duo teamed up, and can now offer a “medical equipment disposition solution.” This solution will take devices that aren’t needed any more for one reason or another, and either sell them, donate them, or recycle them outright to remove waste from the equation. This prevents a lot of the waste seen with earlier processes.
Is GE Healthcare a Good Stock to Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on GEHC stock based on four Buys and one Hold assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average GPN price target of $86.50 per share implies 31.18% upside potential.
