The Cochlear Ltd (ASX: COH) share price has been a net gainer over the past few weeks.
Whereas the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO) has posted a return of 2% over the last month, Cochlear shares have climbed 5% into the green.
Let's go over the tailwinds behind the Cochlear share price of late.
What's driving Cochlear shares lately?
There have been no market sensitive announcements from the company since its half-year results back in February 2021. Nonetheless, Cochlear shares continue their climb on the charts.
From its half-year results, Cochlear anticipates "improving momentum" across the remainder of 2021 as surgery numbers continue to recover.
In addition, the US hearing aids market is estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.8% into 2028, reaching US$4.48 billion according to a report from Fortune Business Insights. This is relevant as Cochlear is a key purveyor to the US market.
The report draws on data from Johns Hopkins Cochlear Centre for Hearing that states 14.3% of the entire US population "suffers from some degree of hearing loss".
In addition, investor sentiment on Cochlear shares is undoubtedly bullish at the given time. To illustrate, the Cochlear share price has set a new 52-week high twice in the last month or so.
In addition, given its exposure to these growth levers, Macquarie currently has an outperform rating on Cochlear shares. However, the Cochlear share price has since breached the investment bank's price target of $246 in a further display of this sentiment.
As mentioned, there has been no market-sensitive information for Cochlear lately. Therefore, it stands to reason that these driving factors may have some positive inflection on the charts for its shares over the past month.
Cochlear share price snapshot
The Cochlear share price has climbed 33% into the green since January 1, extending the previous 12 months' gain of 26%.
These returns have outpaced the broad index's return of around 25% over the past year.
