The Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH) share price has jumped 4.8% higher this morning after the company announced a new series of cochlear implants.
What did Cochlear announce this morning?
Cochlear announced the launch of the Nucleus® ProfileTM Plus Series cochlear implant, designed for routine 1.5 and 3 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging scans without the need to remove the internal magnet.
Commercial availability of the product will commence in Germany with other European countries to follow over the coming months.
The Nucleus Profile Plus series implant is expected to be launched across other developed markets over the coming months, subject to the timing of regulatory approvals.
Is Cochlear in the buy zone?
The Cochlear share price is up only 1.2% so far this year to $175.6 per share which was in a large part despite a reasonably strong half-year earnings result.
The company reported a 16% year-on-year (YoY) increase in first-half profit largely driven by an 11% increase in sales.
However, investors headed for the door and smashed the share price 9% lower in just one day as headwinds for the company continue to linger including a loss of market share in the United States.
The company is still facing an impending court case in the US regarding alleged intellectual property (IP) breaches which have been enough to spook investors and see Cochlear trading flat so far this year.
In terms of healthcare stocks, I'd be looking at the likes of Ramsay Health Care Ltd (ASX: RHC) or Sonic Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SHL) as alternatives in the traditionally non-cyclical sector.
Ramsay's share price is up 10.1% so far this year while Sonic has climbed 12.3% in a reasonably solid start to the year. Both companies have the potential to see their share prices climb higher and still offer a dividend as well as upside from capital gains.
For those who want to look for growth outside of the Healthcare sector, this top-rated stock could boost portfolio gains as it continues to soar in a $22 billion industry.
