Headquartered in San Ramon, California, The Cooper Companies, Inc. (COO) is a global medical device company; it it has more than 12,000 products sold in over 100 countries, notes David Fried, editor of The Buyback Letter

The firm operates through two units — CooperVision (contact lenses) and CooperSurgical (focus on women, babies and families, medical devices, fertility and diagnostics primarily used by obstetricians and gynecologists).

The company was in the news recently for teaming up to create a “net plastic neutral” 1-day lens with longer-lasting environmental benefits to reduce ocean-bound plastic waste.

The company has also been studying the potential of increased childhood nearsightedness (inability to see objects clearly at a distance) with changes in lifestyle and screen time since the onset of the pandemic.

Myopia may have worsened by the overuse of near vision (due to vastly more screen time) and lack of natural light (due to quarantine and less time outdoors).

It recently got European approval for its Procornea DreamLite night lenses, for slowing the progression of myopia in children and young adults. 

While the company has rebounded from COVID lows, COO is still battling slow recovery from pandemic-led disruptions in its Asia Pacific region, and some continuing COVID restrictions in several countries. 

COO’s share price has increased 140% in about 5 years. Q2’s EPS was $3.38, and the bottom line improved 123.8% on a year–over-year basis from the year-ago EPS of $1.51.

Revenues were $719.5 million, a 37.1% improvement. On the better-than-expected fiscal Q2 performance, COO raised its fiscal year 2021 guidance, projecting total revenues in the range of $2,855 million-$2,885 million, reflecting an uptick of 14-15%. COO has reduced shares outstanding by 7.659% in the last 12 months.

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