Volcano Corporation: Close to the heart
Volcano Corporation (Nasdaq: VOLC)
Rancho Cordova, California
http://www.volcanotherapeutics.com
52-week low / high: $14.40 / $23.10
Shares Outstanding: $46.8 million
Market Capitalization: $709.2 million
Next time you indulge in that cheeseburger and fries, remember to think of Volcano Corporation (Nasdaq: VOLC), a small cap that takes your health to heart.
Volcano develops, manufactures and commercializes a suite of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and functional measurement (FM) products that enhance the diagnosis and treatment of vascular and structural disease. The IVUS products include consoles, single-procedure disposable catheters and advanced functionality options. Volcano's FM products consist of pressure and flow consoles and single-procedure disposable pressure and flow guidewires.
The FM devices in particular measure the pressure and flow characteristics of blood around plaque, thus allowing doctors to gauge the plaque's impact on blood flow and pressure. In layman's terms, the company monitors just how clogged your arteries get from plaque buildup and how your blood flow and blood pressure stack up as a result.
Founded in 2001, Volcano had an internationally installed base of over 1,800 IVUS consoles and over 700 FM consoles as of Dec. 31, 2006.
The company's financials have been strong and steady: for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2007, Volcano reported record revenues of $31.5 million, up 13% from a year earlier. The company reported a net loss on a GAAP basis of $652,000, or $0.02 per share, compared with net income of $501,000, or $0.01 per diluted share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding stock-based compensation expense of $2 million, the company reported net income of $1.3 million, or $0.03 per diluted share.
Volcano's future looks promising. During the third quarter, the company announced a market alliance with Philips Electronics Japan to promote its IVUS system alongside Philips' cardiovascular X-ray equipment. Volcano also said that it expects to gain regulatory clearance in the United States for its Revolution rotational catheter in January 2008. In Japan, the company has recently launched the Revolution on its IVG IVUS console.
Residing in a health space where there will always be a need for the diagnosis and treatment of vascular disease, especially with the newest crop of aging Boomers on the horizon, Volcano's growth prospects look anything but constricted.
Note: Volcano Corporation (Nasdaq: VOLC) is on the “Watch List” of Growth Report, a subscription investment newsletter from Business Financial Publishing, which also publishes SmallCapInvestor.com. As a Watch List company, Volcano displays many characteristics found in successful stock winners, and is being closely monitored for possible inclusion in the Growth Report portfolio at a later date.
