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Yes, it's all rather curious isn't it? Results didn't seem bad, and most brokers are moderately bullish on S&N. Yet every time we get above 1000 the share price sinks again a few days later. No wonder there was some rebellion against the CEO's £9m pay - what has he actually accomplished and done to move things forward? I feel that we are stuck in treacle here. Annoying as this is one of my bigger holdings and I was confident that post-covid things would progress quickly. Yet another mistake by me alas !
Well sentiment is completely washed out.
Faith in the CEO is at rock bottom.
Soames has proven to be very disappointing as Chairman, against expectations.
The board refuse to purchase shares with their own money.
Investor Relations are in denial when spoken to.
I used to be a Smith and Nephew shareholder and got out years ago but have kept an eye on it. It has had one hell of a fall over the years and is, as some of you say it is "out of favour" but I went back in this morning at 974.7p. The company is financially sound and in a product area that will not go out of fashion. So at this price it either recovers or it gets taken over........well that's the theory and it could do so from a much lower base than today.
This share is a real mystery... If it drops much more I will average down. But the SP action is bizarre. Holding and watching for now.
Phuk nose. I’m stubborn as a mule though. The fundamentals of this business, the market it is in, and the opportunities for growth are all strong. It just needs a firm push in the right direction. I’m not convinced the current management are the right folks for the job - but hopefully some people with much deeper pockets than me will see the opportunities and have the firepower to move this.
Company is heavily out of favour.
What are they not telling us?
There is value to be had for brave investors.
By Rosie Murray-west
An ageing population and a hip and knee replacement company ought to be a match made in heaven. So why have Smith & Nephew (S&N) investors had such a hellish time?
The shares are down 38 per cent over the past five years and nearly 6 per cent since the beginning of 2024.
There are myriad reasons for this. These range from a well-publicised (but now resolved) revolt over new chief executive Deepak Nath's whopping £9.5 million pay packet to fears that the popularity of weight-loss drugs, such as Ozempic, may mean fewer of us rely on knee replacements.
What investors need to decide is whether pessimism over S&N's future has been overdone and if Nath's much-vaunted 12-point-plan will deliver a recovery that will produce a meaningful uplift in the shares.
First, let's look at what went wrong. S&N has three main divisions: orthopaedics, sports medicine and advanced wound management. Before Covid, the company had operating margins of more than 20 per cent, but this collapsed after the pandemic with the company struggling with supply chains and inflation, particularly in orthopaedics.
Nath joined in April 2022 and rolled out a new plan to fix the orthopaedics division with improved inventory management and training, while growing the other two divisions.
The first quarter trading update last week showed that much of this plan is on track. Orthopaedics is growing outside the US, while sports medicine and advanced wound management are performing to expectations.
On the other hand, the company is suffering from China's new Volume Based Procurement strategy, which forces huge price reductions on to manufacturers. This is affecting its sports medicine division while struggles remain with its market share in the US for hips and knees. Analysts broadly welcomed the figures, even though they slightly missed some forecasts for the first quarter.
Seb Jantet, healthcare analyst at Liberum, says the US is still battling with supply issues for hips and knees, but there is potential for upside if the business resolves this.
He adds that Volume Based Procurement will drag down revenues for sports medicine and joint repair by 5 per cent.
Jantet predicts 5 per cent underlying growth for the full year and believes the company is undervalued.
'The shares haven't performed well since February and it isn't entirely clear why,' he says.
Julien Dormois, at broker Jeffries, agrees that the current weak share price is an opportunity.
'Smith & Nephew is reaping the benefits from portfolio shifting toward faster-growth segments and recent R&D efforts, which support higher, sustainable growth,' he says.
'We think the lacklustre stock performance allows investors to revisit the case.'
There are headwinds, though, including the issues in China and the possibility that the company may not hit its ambitious targets.
But these should not detract from the fact that the shares are attractively priced.
S&N is paying
Https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/investing/article-13406885/MIDAS-SHARE-TIPS-soon-wont-hip-cold-shoulder-Smith-Nephew.html?ico=mol_desktop_money-newtab&molReferrerUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fmoney%2Findex.html&_gl=1*e6wkdb*_ga*ODI5NDY2MDg4LjE2NzkxNzI1NjM.*_ga_XE0XLFFF16*MTcxNTQ2MTIyOC45My4xLjE3MTU0NjI1MzAuMC4wLjA.*_ga_GQE6MT7DLZ*MTcxNTQ2MTIyNy40LjEuMTcxNTQ2MjUzMC4wLjAuMA..&_ga=2.173914400.2030337593.1715461228-829466088.1679172563
Not that long ago you were waiting to go all in at £9.00, what’s happened, change of heart or maybe a bit of short talking?
Still £2.55 higher - when will the penny drop with investors ?
Jefferies cuts Smith & Nephew price target to 1,250 (1,300) pence - 'buy'
The Americans JPM raise target price to 1,381
Barclays cuts Smith & Nephew price target to 1,190 (1,200) pence - 'equal weight'
Was a close run thing.
Shareholders are quite rightly unhappy with the performance here and the buck stops at the top. What's going on in the US?
Trimmed around 1015/1018 and rebought around 971/2. A salary for many so worth a trade.
Usual corrupt BS!
On the back of CVS Healthcare miss ?
Lol haha adding back
Makes a change - progress and consolidation - market seems to like it without the usual sell off. Undervalued stock, unloved.
Nothing startling in trading statement.
How is a P/E of 14 for this sort of company overpriced? When peers trade at 30x?
Smith and Nephew has always been way overpriced. Even at the current level still seems overpriced. The dividend payout is below what you get from a savings account and the prospect for growth is just about ...meh, especially now and the slowing Chinese market. The share price should be half as much to yield a healthy dividend of 5-6%.
I would buy only with the wish of seeing the share price back to historical levels but I can't put any weight behind my wish especially with the debt it carries and the rates.
Anyone going?
Need some fireworks.
Joined the top-up club at 962 today. I don't know why...