Cochlear Ltd (ASX: COH) shares are marching higher today.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) hearing solutions company closed yesterday trading for $102.89. As we head into the Friday lunch hour, shares are swapping hands for $104.29 each, up 1.4%.
For some context, the ASX 200 is up 1.7% at this same time following claims by United States President Donald Trump that a peace deal with Iran may be just days away.
Despite today's uptick, however, the Cochlear share price remains down a painful 60% in 2026.
Those losses will have only been modestly eased by the $2.15 a share in partly-franked dividends Cochlear paid to eligible stockholders on 13 April. Cochlear stock trades on a 4.1% partly-franked trailing dividend yield.
Which brings us back to our headline question.
With the company's shares having lost more than half of their value over the last year, is the ASX 200 stock now trading for a bargain?
Image source: Getty Images
Should I buy Cochlear shares today?
MPC Markets' Mark Gardner recently ran his slide rule over the ASX 200 stock (courtesy of The Bull).
"Cochlear remains a global leader in hearing implants, but the investment case has become more balanced," he said.
"The shares have been under pressure after analysts re-assessed growth expectations and lowered revenue, margin and valuation assumptions," Gardner added.
Looking to the company's longer-term prospects, he said, "The long-term demand profile remains attractive, supported by ageing populations and continued adoption of implantable hearing technology."
Explaining his hold recommendation on Cochlear shares, Gardner concluded:
However, the market will need evidence that procedure volumes and margins can recover before a stronger recommendation is warranted. At these levels, investors can continue to hold but should monitor earnings momentum and further analyst revisions.
What's been happening with the ASX 200 stock?
Most of the pain for the shareholders was delivered on 22 April following the release of a decidedly unwelcome trading update.
Cochlear shares closed down 40.7% on the day after the company reported falling demand for its implants in developed markets, as well as flagging cancellations and delays in deliveries to the Middle East due to the ongoing conflict.
This saw management downgrade Cochlear's full-year FY 2026 underlying net profit guidance to between $290 million and $330 million. That was down from the company's prior FY 2026 underlying net profit guidance of $435 million to $460 million.
Cochlear also reduced its second-half FY 2026 sales growth forecast to 2% to 6% in constant currency.
