Varian Medical's ProBeam Platform Gains Traction in Russia

Varian Medical Systems, Inc. VAR recently announced that St. Petersburg Center of Nuclear Medicine of the Sergey Berezin Medical Institute concluded its first pediatric patient treatment with the company’s flagship ProBeam proton therapy system. Notably, the center is expected to treat approximately 1,000 patients each year.

With solid prospects, this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock is an attractive pick at the moment.

What is ProBeam Proton Therapy System?

Varian Medical's ProBeam system is a leading platform in advanced cancer-care technologies. This is the world's first commercially available pencil beam scanning system, which is the most precise form of proton therapy available.

The platform comes under the company’s particle therapy business. It delivers intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT), which is considered to be better than the other legacy proton therapy delivery methods.

In the last quarter Varian Medical booked two new proton orders, one at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and one at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami. Management confirmed that both orders were for the ProBeam systems.

Varian Medical Systems, Inc. Price

 

Varian Medical Systems, Inc. Price | Varian Medical Systems, Inc. Quote

Favorable Stock Performance

Over the past year, Varian Medical outperformed its industry in terms of price performance.

The company returned 48.9%, comparing favorably with the sub-industry’s gain of 26.8%. Also, the current return is higher than the S&P 500’s growth of 23.5%.

Varian Medical’s solid performance in the Oncology business— ProBeam proton therapy, improving margins and the launch of Halcyon radiotherapy treatment system are the key highlights at the moment.

Strong revenue opportunity from its various Oncology and Imaging Component products, growing adoption of Proton Therapy, strong overseas presence, particularly in emerging countries and new partnership deals are also positives.

Other Key Picks

Other top-ranked stocks in the broader medical sector are Bio-Rad Laboratories BIO, athenahealth, Inc. ATHN and PerkinElmer PKI.

Bio-Rad Laboratories sports a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. The company has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 20%.

athenahealth is a Zacks #1 Ranked player. The company has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 21.5%.

PerkinElmer has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 12.3%. The stock carries a Zacks Rank #2.

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