Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN is reportedly looking to enter the medical supply industry, but analysts at Piper Jaffray aren't concerned this will disrupt Henry Schein, Inc. HSIC's business.
Analyst Sarah James upgraded Henry Schein's stock from Neutral to Overweight with a price target boosted from $190 to $193.
Despite popular belief, Amazon's business model doesn't imply it can enter every single category it chooses, the analyst suggested. In fact, the company tends to avoid high touch industries that require a localized sales team and showrooms. Amazon would also require customization business practices and ongoing support if it were to compete against Henry Schein's value added services, which would be vital to growing share and retention in distribution.
Henry Schein is a provider of healthcare products and services primarily to office-based dental, animal health and medical practitioners.
"We believe there is a very low likelihood Amazon could cut into HSIC's growth opportunity, view the product overlap potential as small, and view the recent stock pressure on this thesis as overdone," James wrote.
Amazon's potential disruption to Henry Schein played a part in the stock's decline since the second quarter, the analyst said. Yet at the same time the company is poised for dental consumable growth, winning market share with further upside coming from the recent Sirona deal.
As such, the stock's valuation appears attractive with a PEG (2010 PE, LT Growth) ratio of 2.1x and a 0.6 to 0.8x delta relative to other Overweight stocks under the analyst's coverage.
The recent pressure to Henry Schein's stock has created an "attractive" entry point for investors for a "high quality, low earnings risk" company.
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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