Mike,
It's pretty early in the quarter for such prognostications. I wonder if Mr. Westgaard is speculating or if he called hospital adminstrators who gave reasons for delaying/not wanting to buy. Since HCFA will reimburse for these procedures, it seems like a safe purchase for a hospital, but there's a lot of uncertainty about healthcare policies these days. So maybe they're skittish. A Yahoo! poster says folks he's talked to think the bulk of such sales will close toward the end of the quarter, if they're going to. I have no idea if that's valid.
Looking at the bigger picture, however, basic fibroblast growth factor drugs appear to address the same market, and probably at lower cost. But such drugs are years away from the market, so I doubt that's a major factor in adminstrators' decisions on the lasers.
Speaking personally, I will give them another quarter or two while writing calls to recoup some of the losses. I'd like to see the revised estimates beaten, if only by a little. I own PLC, too. It will be interesting to see how they do. PLC has an arrangement to with GE Capital to help hospitals finance the purchase of their laser systems. Will it make a difference?
I don't know. I wouldn't buy here, but I'm not selling anything but calls yet. My personal strategy and humble opinion only.
Cheers, Tuck |
