Piper Jaffray analyst Matt O'Brien reiterated an Overweight rating and $69 price target on Integra LifeSciences after the company reported Q2 earnings results that were "ahead of expectations," with guidance the analyst believes is "likely conservative." O'Brien was also positive that the company's integration efforts look to be moving in the right direction, that orthopedics growth is improving, and that management remains committed to 100bps of GM expansion. He said Integra "now has a more favorable setup for the year (still at an attractive valuation)."

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.