ResMed makes a savvy buy

Article Excerpt

RESMED INC., $225.97, is a buy. The company (New York symbol RMD; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (www.resmed.com; Shares outstanding: 146.5 million; Market cap: $33.1 billion; Dividend yield: 0.7%) makes medical devices used to treat patients with sleep apnea as well as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other respiratory conditions. With each machine ResMed sells, it acquires a long-term replacement-parts customer. The tubing, masks and so on for each device needs replacing several times a year. That, plus software sales, provides the company recurring revenue. ResMed recently completed the acquisition of Medifox Dan from private equity firm Hg. Medifox is a German maker and seller of out-of-hospital software solutions for providers in major settings. The price for the privately held firm was $1.0 billion U.S. and is ResMed’s largest acquisition to date. Medifox’s clinical, financial, and operational solutions are used by out-of-hospital care providers for care documentation, personnel planning, administration, billing and more. Its software is similar to ResMed’s current software offerings MatrixCare and Brightree. Medifox now gives ResMed access…