Medical device maker Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) stock is trading down (-14%) for the year. Medtronic is the world's largest medical device maker with a portfolio of glucose monitors, stents, insulin pumps, pacemakers, and catheters. It serves patients in over 150 countries. The Company makes medical devices to treat chronic diseases including cardiovascular, renal, and diabetes along with neuroscience and medical surgical segments. Procedure volumes have returned to pre-COVID levels. The Company has historically maintained stable growth through bull and bear markets as its has continued to raise its dividend consistently for 45 years. The Company's biggest pain point was supply chain disruption in China being the largest contributors to the fiscal Q4 2022 shortfall. Further headwinds included raw materials shortages, inflationary and FX impacts, which the Company may partially mitigate with the launch of new products this year. The Company recently received FDA approval for its UNiD Spine Analyzer v4.0 planning platform which provides predictive models for surgeons performing lower lumbar spine surgery. It is the first Company in the U.S. to receive FDA clearance for predictive models for spine surgery. Abbott (NYSE:ABT) is the major competitor with its pacemakers and stents thanks to the acquisition of rival St. James Medical. It also competes with Abbott's blood glucose monitor FreeStyle Libre which doesn't require a fingerstick pin pricks for a reading. Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) is also a fierce competitor in the medical devices segment. Medtronic has a 2.85% dividend yield and is trading at 12.5X forward earnings. The CEO stated that its robust pipeline and upcoming catalysts will results in a strong second half of the calendar year. Prudent investors seeking exposure in the medical devices segment can watch for opportunistic pullbacks in shares of Medtronic.
