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Fly News Breaks for January 2, 2020
ABT, MDT
Jan 2, 2020 | 07:25 EDT
As previously reported, Guggenheim analyst Christopher Pasquale upgraded Medtronic (MDT) to Buy from Neutral with a $135 price target, telling investors that he sees 2020 as the year that the company's "much-touted" pipeline begins to translate into financial results given expected FDA approvals for the Micra AV leadless pacemaker and 780G insulin pump. He also thinks longer-term projects like the Hugo robotic surgery platform, Intrepid TMVR, and Symplicity RDN system could begin to move the needle in FY22 and expects Medtronic's valuation discount to peers to narrow as visibility improves. Meanwhile, in the same note to investors, Pasquale downgraded Abbott (ABT) to Neutral from Buy as he expects Libre's contribution to overall growth to fade and predicts a "gradual deceleration" in overall growth from 7.6% in 2019 to 5.9% in 2023.