$50.40

-4.16 (-7.62%)

10/6/2008 4:02 PM

Varian Medical Systems, Inc. (VAR)

CAPS Rating:

The Company designs, manufactures, sells and services advanced equipment and software products for treating cancer with radiation.

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What the Community Thinks

Total Members

244 Outperforms

14 Underperforms

All-Stars

68 Outperforms

2 Underperforms

Wall Street

9 Outperforms

1 Underperforms

Members bullish on VAR are also bullish on:

Members bearish on VAR are also bearish on:

Ticker Tags

Mid Cap (670), Equipment (65), S&P 500 (470), Medical Appliances & Equipment (106)
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Varian Medical Systems, Inc. At A Glance

Current Price:	$50.40
Last Trade Time:	10/6/2008 4:02 PM
Open:	$0.00
Previous Close:	$54.56
Daily Range:	$48.08 - $51.99
52-Week Range:	$40.22 - $65.84
Volume:	3,507,335
Market Cap:	$7.56B
P/E Ratio:	27.15
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Stock Trends

VAR VS S&P 500 (SPY)

News & Discussion Boards

Other News Headlines for VAR

Varian Medical shares drop on downgrade
10/6/2008 8:33:00 PM - AP
Final Glance: Health Care Equipment companies
10/6/2008 6:34:00 PM - AP
Midday Glance: Health Care Equipment companies
10/6/2008 2:33:00 PM - AP
Movers roundup: Varian Medical, TiVo
10/6/2008 2:25:00 PM - AP

More Headlines...

Top Bull Pitch

Recs

3 Varian Medical Systems, Inc. (VAR)

Avatar mkeszler (33.70) Submitted: 7/11/07 1:04 PM

With the aging of the population and longer life expectancy, cancer and it's treatment will continue to be a growth industry. Trust me, I'm a doctor....(ha ha) But seriously, these guys are leaders in their field, make more sophisticated devices to better target radiation treatment and limit damage ...More

Replies: 1 | Reply | Permalink

Top Bear Pitch

Recs

7 Varian Medical Systems, Inc. (VAR)

Avatar PauvrePapillon (99.64) Submitted: 10/19/07 1:02 PM

Varian may have current market share but their technology has been rendered obsolete by the commercial introduction of Accuray's CyberKnife. This is why Varian's sales have flattened out. Even Varian's hack analyst Amit Hazan admits as much in his latest excuse as to why VAR has not performed as he ...More

Replies: 14 | Reply | Permalink

Varian may have current market share but their technology has been rendered obsolete by the commercial introduction of Accuray's CyberKnife. This is why Varian's sales have flattened out. Even Varian's hack analyst Amit Hazan admits as much in his latest excuse as to why VAR has not performed as he had predicted.

"'Competitor innovation and subsequent inroads have clearly brought on share losses during the past year, and perhaps caught Varian a little off guard,' Hazan said."

http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:tYoEn9oDLK8J:biz.yahoo.com/ap/070611/varian_ahead_of_the_bell.html%3F.v%3D1+%22amit+hazan%22+caught+Varian&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us

Even Varian’s own press releases reveal an awareness of the problem. First they tout the SRS capabilities of their existing product line. Then they announce a joint venture with BrainLab to develop an SRS machine. If they already have an SRS capable product, why do they need to partner with a competitor to create one? Read between the lines. Varian is in trouble.

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070712/aqth082.html?.v=14

Until recently, CyberKnife has been a self referral-driven phenomenon. Patients see a TV news report or documentary or, doing their own research, find out about CyberKnife on the Internet and start to ask the right questions. The CyberKnife Society and CyberKnife Coalition have taken the lead in helping patients gain access to CyberKnife SRS with Accuray reporting that 95 percent of all cases are achieving reimbursement.

http://www.cyberknifesupport.org/forum/default.aspx?f=16&m=14240

The bottom line for hospitals is that they must adapt or lose the business. Since, the reimbursement rate per fraction for CyberKnife SRS is up to nine times greater than conventional radiotherapy, it’s not a tough sell. As Varian’s existing installed base reaches the point at which this equipment would normally be replaced, hospitals are, instead, opting to upgrade to CyberKnife.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/48192-jefferies-strongly-worded-call-should-push-accuray-higher?source=yahoo

This market is moving towards CyberKnife SRS and way from conventional radiotherapy because CyberKnife gets better results for the patient and is more profitable for the provider. This is not good news for Varian shareholders. If Varian can’t make up for their technology deficit in the radiation oncology space with sales in other markets, their stock price has to come down.

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Recs 0 (VAR) ZachGruver (< 20) Submitted: 8/26/08 3:38 PM : Start Price: $62.98 VAR Score: -2.26 Growth is strong, with recent quarterly earnings rising by 49% (.58 versus an estimated .46). The need to treat cancer will increase in the coming decade, and with Varian possessing a 60% share of the worldwide imaging market and a 70% share of the U.S. imaging market it's share price should increase tremendously. Additionally, they have a screener that screens incoming cargo in international ports. Varian has around 350 port screeners installed around the world, but under 30 of them are in the United States. Under 4% of the incoming cargo in the United States is screened, so Varian also has a lot of growth potential surrounding these machines. I think that while Varian currently has a high P/E ratio growth will continue to accelerate, making Varian a very attractive name at these levels. Report this Post Replies: 0 \| Reply \| Permalink Oops! There appears to be a problem with your comment. Check to see if there's something you left out. Recs 0 (VAR) cyncoot (72.47) Submitted: 7/26/08 12:57 PM : Start Price: $58.70 VAR Score: 2.42 Great top and bottom line growth. Excellent profits. Report this Post Replies: 0 \| Reply \| Permalink Oops! There appears to be a problem with your comment. Check to see if there's something you left out. Recs 0 (VAR) fsc137 (97.02) Submitted: 3/27/08 11:51 AM : Start Price: $47.74 VAR Score: 27.30 Bullish on all robotic surgery. Report this Post Replies: 0 \| Reply \| Permalink Oops! There appears to be a problem with your comment. Check to see if there's something you left out. Recs 0 (VAR) PokerMoneyToo (93.49) Submitted: 3/25/08 12:46 PM : Start Price: $47.71 VAR Score: 28.10 Shift in technology will drive single vendor purchases rather piecemeal. Report this Post Replies: 0 \| Reply \| Permalink Oops! There appears to be a problem with your comment. Check to see if there's something you left out. Recs 0 (VAR) VY100 (88.64) Submitted: 3/13/08 4:59 PM : Start Price: $46.94 VAR Score: 26.70 quant pick Report this Post Replies: 0 \| Reply \| Permalink Oops! There appears to be a problem with your comment. Check to see if there's something you left out.
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Wall Street

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