Resmed vs Covidien

The Motley Fool ran an "article" last week recommending Resmed stock saying Resmed was the leader in the sleep apnea device market and ranking Covidien as their chief competitor.

No mention of Philips Respironics. And didn't I read that Covidien was trying to sell its sleep apnea device section???

Who even hears of Covidien/Puritan Bennett sleep apnea devices anymore?? The leaders we users hear about and experience are Philips, Resmed, DeVilbiss, Fisher & Paykel.

Covidien was Tyco several years ago....Covidien is a conglomerate with over 50 companies covering many areas of the economy.

Thanks, LSAT, but so is Philips (Philips Respironics). I just thought it interesting that a investment advisor was totally unaware of or ignored the real leader in the field of PAP devices, which is Philips, and then mentions an almost unheard of or defunct competetor, Covidien, as Resmed's closest competitor.

Its not that I don't like Resmed or Resmed stock - just that I wasn't too impressed w/The Motley Fool's information on which he based his stock recommendation.

He also said Resmed was formed in 1987 here in the USA which we know is false. Resmed is an Australian company who only recently (last 5-6 years??) moved its headquarters to the USA but still builds it devices in Oz.

Now, Fisher & Paykel is what .... a New Zealand company? And DeVilbiss ??? Maybe The Motley Fool was going by only American companies??? Or companies traded on the American stock exchange and maybe DeVilbiss isn't publicly traded??

Nah, I just checked. DeVilbiss is located in Somerset, PA. Whew! Sharing the same state as Respironics for their headquarters.

Hmmm, DeVilbiss Healthcare is also located in New Castle, New South Wales, Australia. Wonder which came first, the chicken or the egg?

You have to take it in context Slinky. Philips Respironics doesn't have it's own stock (it used to, before Philips, symbol was RESP). You can buy Philips, but not Respironics. This is typical for parent corporations, they protect their subsidiaries.

Thanks, Alshain, but similar could be said for Covidien. Who has even HEARD of a sleep apnea device manufactured by Covidien under ANY name? To the best of my knowledge any share of the market they had was several years ago.

It just seems to me if you are recommending a stock you would want to at least be aware of its true competition whether stock in that competitor (especially when its selling more than the company you're recommending) is available or not.

I just question how much reliance to place on this particular investment advisor based on the information he provided as his reasoning in selecting the stock for purchase.

Slinky wrote:Thanks, Alshain, but similar could be said for Covidien. Who has even HEARD of a sleep apnea device manufactured by Covidien under ANY name? To the best of my knowledge any share of the market they had was several years ago.

Slinky wrote:It just seems to me if you are recommending a stock you would want to at least be aware of its true competition whether stock in that competitor

Perhaps, not entirely necessary.

Slinky wrote:(especially when its selling more than the company you're recommending)

Not so true. Most traders in that game don't want big companies that cost a lot already, they want small companies with huge potential to grow. Just because a company is selling more now, doesn't mean it's the right choice or that the smaller ones are the wrong choice. ResMed is making a good foothold and that makes them a cheaper stock that is a safe bet to grow.

Slinky wrote:I just question how much reliance to place on this particular investment advisor based on the information he provided as his reasoning in selecting the stock for purchase.

Well, he may not have provided the right reasoning, but as mentioned, he is correct that investing in ResMed would be a wise choice.

Thanks again, Alshain. I've never invested in a stock, only in mutual funds. But was tempted to buy either Resmed or Respironics a few years ago - just prior to the scuttlebutt hitting about Philips buying Respironics and then Resmed being a candidate for purchase as well. So I decided since I didn't know all that much about what I was doing I'd just stick w/a mutual fund. But I've followed Resmed stock just out of curiosity. Now with the market down I was tempted to maybe put a little money in.

Slinky wrote:The Motley Fool ran an "article" last week recommending Resmed stock saying Resmed was the leader in the sleep apnea device market and ranking Covidien as their chief competitor.

Stock analysts are often enormously clueless about the businesses of the stocks they cover. They often see stock action that's happening for financial or hype reasons and make clueless guesses about reasons in the underlying business. They're often really about about anything involving tech and get really excited about some "new" development of the company that's obviously unimportant or obsolete if you know anything about the actual products.

In my opinion, Motley Fool is really bad about namedropping by putting company names in articles simply to draw search engine results to lead people to their site.

Thanks, ArchAngle.

Slinky wrote:Thanks again, Alshain. I've never invested in a stock, only in mutual funds. But was tempted to buy either Resmed or Respironics a few years ago - just prior to the scuttlebutt hitting about Philips buying Respironics and then Resmed being a candidate for purchase as well. So I decided since I didn't know all that much about what I was doing I'd just stick w/a mutual fund. But I've followed Resmed stock just out of curiosity. Now with the market down I was tempted to maybe put a little money in.

Is it true that Google will buy Resmed and masks & machines will soon be available on the internet? Will it be an Android OS?

I'd buy ResMed on the way down and hold for the long term.

GumbyCT wrote:Is it true that Google will buy Resmed and masks & machines

If that happens, and you have a bad nights sleep, the next week, you'll get ads for Lunesta® popping up everywhere.

Mike6977 wrote:I'd buy ResMed on the way down and hold for the long term.

GumbyCT wrote:Is it true that Google will buy Resmed and masks & machines

If that happens, and you have a bad nights sleep, the next week, you'll get ads for Lunesta® popping up everywhere.

ONLY if you don't use their special cable