Thoratec Corporation (NASDAQ:THOR) Shares Surges on Clotting Issue in HTWR Data

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Thoratec Corporation (NASDAQ:THOR) shares jumped Monday after data from a clinical trial revealed that HeartWare International’s (HTWR) ventricular-assist device posed much higher risk of blood clots than expected, comparing unfavorably with Thoratec’s HeartMate II device. On the above news, THOR shares were upgraded at Leerink Swann to "Outperform" from "Market Perform." HeartWare presented an update from the active arm of the US ADVANCE trial in BTT, as well as the trial's CAP program last Friday at the annual meeting for the ISHLT conference.  This data showed an unprecedented 95% 6-month survival rate, as well as very low rates of bleeding complications, both of which continue to place HTWR's HVAD as the heir-apparent to the US LVAD market. This data also showed that patients implanted with HeartWare’s mechanical heart-assist device, known as the HVAD, had an unexpectedly high 9.2% chance of developing a potentially life-threatening blood clot per year compared to estimated risk of heart-pump-related thrombosis of 3% in case of Thoratec device, known as HeartMate II. Six month and one year survival for the first 110 patients enrolled in Heartware's ADVANCE CAP program is tracking at 95% and 92%, respectively, compared to 94% and 86% for the original 140-patient pivotal cohort. Hence, HVAD's overall performance remains strong. Analysts at JP Morgan said that Thrombus concerns likely to weigh on HTWR, but HVAD’s competitive position still strong. “In the end, we expect this weekend’s results to temper Street expectations for rapid adoption of the HVAD following its US approval (anticipated by year end) and HeartWare’s shares are likely to come under some pressure Monday as a result,” they said. “Our own view, however, is that the HVAD remains a compelling option for patients, with this latest issue just one piece of a multifaceted decision clinicians will face between two very good pumps.” HeartWare’s device is approved in Europe and awaiting approval in the United States as a bridge-to-transplant (BTT), or to keep patients alive while they wait for heart transplant. Analyst, Sean Lavin at Lazard upgraded the stock of THOR from "neutral" to "Buy" saying that he expects the rate of enrollment in the destination trial to slow, and market share in Europe and the U.S. in future to be lower than he previously thought. Shares of the company went up by 9.88% to $30.13 with volume of 4.02 million shares traded. The stock has 52 week range of $22.33-$47.93. The market capital of the stock stands at $1.77 billion with beta of 0.81. Thoratec Corporation (Thoratec) is a manufacturer of mechanical circulatory support products for use by patients with heart failure (HF).