Piper Jaffray analyst Matt O'Brien said Integra LifeSciences' (IART) acquisition of Codman Neurosurgery from Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) makes sense strategically and while cautioning that "large deals like this often have their bumps along the way" in transition, he thinks Integra has probably been conservative while properly incorporating those into their 2018 accretion estimates. He says caution is warranted during the integration period, but likes the deal longer term and keeps an Overweight rating on Integra shares.

BTIG notes that seven Medicare Administrative Contractors, or MACs - CGS, WPS, NGS, Palmetto, Novitas, First Coast, and Noridian - this morning published new proposed local coverage determinations, or LCDs, regarding the coverage of skin substitutes grafts and cellular and tissue based products for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers, or DFUs, and venous leg ulcers, or VLUs. This marks "the second attempt in the past 12 months where MACs have proposed an LCD that would drastically shake up the advanced wound care market," says the analyst, who highlights that the proposed LCD includes non-coverage products from Integra Lifesciences (IART), Organogenesis (ORGO), Smith & Nephew (SNN), MiMedx (MDXG), Anika Therapeutics (ANIK) and numerous smaller, private wound care companies. The firm adds that it thinks Integra and Organogenesis both have meaningful exposure to the LCDs based on their product portfolio and the revenue mix within their Advanced Wound Care businesses.