What Osprey does

Osprey Medical aims to make heart imaging procedures safer for patients with poor kidney function. The company's core technologies originated from research conducted by Dr David Kaye at Melbourne's Baker Institute.

Its proprietary dye reduction and monitoring technologies are designed to help physicians minimise dye usage and monitor the dose levels of dye in real time throughout the procedure, potentially saving lives and money in the process.

Distribution agreement

This morning, the Osprey share price has shot up as the company announced a new distribution agreement. Osprey announced an agreement with Australian owned medical distribution company, Regional Health Care Group (RHCG). The deal will see RHCG exclusively distribute Osprey's products across Australia and New Zealand.

The three year deal will result in Osprey's technology being made available to healthcare professionals across both Australia and New Zealand for the first time. Furthermore, the contract has annual minimum sales volumes and a fixed transfer price over the term of the agreement providing sales security for Osprey.

This agreement complements the company's strategic alliance with GE Healthcare which provides exclusive distribution of Osprey's product portfolio.

Osprey's President and CEO, Mike McCormick, said of the deal:

We are excited to enter this agreement with RHCG which will see the Australian developed technology coming to the Australian and New Zealand markets. Our technology originates from Australia and it has been a long-held desire to offer it to Australian healthcare professionals. This agreement is the first step in addressing the rising issue of CI-AKI as a result of heart imaging procedures in patients with CKD.

An alarming 25% of patients having heart procedures are at risk of having a CI-AKI event, which is sudden damage to the kidneys caused by the x-ray imaging dye. CI-AKI frequently leads to negative patient outcomes, longer hospital stays and, in some cases, kidney failure and death.

What now for the Osprey share price?

The Osprey share price has been on a steady decline since the initial announcement of the deal with GE Healthcare at the end of July. Shareholders will be hoping that as the company starts to reap the rewards of the partnership, it will have a change in fortunes.

The Osprey share price is currently up 4.17%, however it remains more than 60% lower than its 52-week high of 6.3 cents. The Osprey share price is down 16.67% since the start of the year.

The post Osprey (ASX:OSP) share price rises on distribution agreement appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing, the Osprey Medical share price is up 8.57% to 3.8 cents.

What Osprey Medical does

Osprey Medical aims to make heart imaging procedures safer for patients with poor kidney function. The company's core technologies originated from research conducted by Dr David Kaye at Melbourne's Baker Institute. Its proprietary dye reduction and monitoring technologies are designed to help physicians minimise dye usage and monitor the dose levels of dye real time throughout the procedure.

Osprey's flagship product is its DyeVert system. The company recently announced a strategic alliance with US giant GE Healthcare to distribute the product.

What does the approval mean?

The CE Marking approval for its DyeVert Power XT device means the product can now be marketed and sold across Europe. Europe is a core market for Osprey and a significant player in the global power injector market. The DyeVert Power XT device is expected to form a core product in the portfolio that is being commercialised by GE Healthcare.

Osprey Medical president and CEO, Mike McCormick commented: "We are delighted to have received CE Mark approval for our Power XT device."

"The approval was a critical building block in our European roll-out and the timing is perfect, following the strategic alliance formed with GE Healthcare in July," he added.

Clinical and operations update

In addition to the CE market approval, an important peer-reviewed manuscript was published by Dr Carlo Briguori. This study further validates the effectiveness of Osprey's DyeVert technology at improving patient outcomes and lowering hospital cost.

The Osprey Medical share price was also driven higher following an update on the partnership with GE Healthcare. Osprey has confirmed the agreement is expected to contribute materially to Osprey's revenue over the 4-year contracted period. The deal also aids increased diversification for the company as it adds to the company's sales outside the US. Under the agreement, Osprey's products will be distributed across Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia and Turkey.

Foolish takeaway

The Osprey Medical share price has been on a tear since the announcement of its agreement with GE Healthcare and is currently up 280% since its lows in late July. However, the company is still suffering at the hands of COVID-19 and seeing material declines in sales revenues. Despite this, Osprey is still poised for growth, as the deal is forecast to add 40% in revenue by 2024.

The post Osprey Medical share price shoots 8% higher after product approval appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

What did Osprey announce?

Under the new agreement, GE Healthcare will exclusively distribute Osprey's products in Europe, Asia, Russia, Turkey, the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia.

The announcement reports that Osprey's DyeVert contrast minimisation devices will complement GE Healthcare's X-ray contrast media. Together, the technology will assist doctors in addressing the rising problem of acute kidney injury (AKI) following interventional coronary angiograms in patients with chronic kidney disease.

Osprey's technology is the only FDA-cleared medical device approved for reducing patient contrast exposure.

The 4-year agreement will see GE Healthcare commercialise Osprey's DyeVert portfolio. On average, the DyeVert technology reduces the amount of contrast that reaches the kidney by 40%, without reducing the image quality.

A word from management

In regard to the new alliance, Osprey CEO Mike McCormick said:

We are pleased to be partnering with GE Healthcare to be commercialising our products in global markets to address the rising problem of AKI following heart imaging procedures in patients with poor kidney function.

CEO of GE Healthcare's pharmaceutical diagnostics business Kevin O'Neill stated:

GE Healthcare and Osprey share a similar goal in improving patient outcomes. Both our product portfolios and educational efforts, which are aligned wit cardiology guidelines for AKI minimisation, offer interventional cardiologists the opportunity to safely image patients by reducing the risk of AKI.

Quarterly report highlights

On Tuesday, Osprey released its quarterly cash flow report for the period ending 30 June 2020.

The company reported a successful capital raising of $12.8 million from its entitlement offer and shortfall placement, and an additional $1.9 million from the US Government in the form of a pandemic recovery loan, a COVID-19 relief program for small US-based companies.

Additionally, Osprey reported a 7% fall in unit sales, due to COVID-19's impact on its worldwide heart procedures. However, as at 30 June, the company still maintained a cash balance of $14 million.

About the Osprey share price

After a strong initial start to the day on Thursday, rising more than 6%, Osprey's share price retreated.

The stock closed the day flat, trading for 4.4 cents, where it remains at the time of writing. Year-to-date, the Osprey share price is up 46.7%.

The post Osprey Medical inks new deal with GE Healthcare appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Three shares at the small end of the market posting strong gains today are listed below. Here's why they are on the rise:

The Firstwave Cloud Technology Ltd (ASX: FCT) share price rose 11.5% on Thursday to 29 cents. This morning the cloud security technology company announced that it has signed a software original equipment manufacturer (OEM) development and license agreement with global tech giant Cisco Systems. The agreement offers Cisco global customers FirstWave's unique cloud service orchestration platform for differentiated email, next generation firewall, and web security. While it is still a little too soon to invest for me, I think that this new deal could make Firstwave Cloud Technology worth a closer look.

The Osprey Medical Inc (ASX: OSP) share price surged 33% higher today to 20 cents. The medical device company's shares surged higher after it reported its fifteenth consecutive quarter of revenue growth for its dye saving technologies. According to the release, Osprey sold 1,955 units of its consumable products during the quarter, up 28% over the first quarter. This led to quarterly revenue of $651,000, up 23% quarter-on-quarter. I've been impressed with its growth and have Osprey Medical on my watchlist now.

The Swift Networks Group Ltd (ASX: SW1) share price finished the day 21.5% higher at 48 cents after the communications, content, and advertising solutions provider advised that it has won multiple contracts to provide its award-winning suite of entertainment and connectivity services to new and existing resources sites across Australia. A total of 1,336 new rooms have been added from these contract wins with companies including Iluka Resources Limited (ASX: ILU) and NT Link. I think Swift Networks is one of the more promising small cap shares on the ASX.

The post These 3 ASX small caps zoomed higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Three small caps that are pushing notably higher on Thursday are listed below. Here's why they are surging higher:

The Firstwave Cloud Technology Ltd (ASX: FCT) share price has surged over 12% higher to 27.5 cents after the cloud security services company announced a deal with Ingram Micro. According to the release, the company has launched its FirstCloud Mail Security solution within the Ingram Micro Australian distribution channel. This could be a big step forward for the company as Ingram Micro is one of the world's largest technology distributors and delivers supply chain services to over 200,000 partners and IT service providers worldwide. But it is early days and investors may want to wait to see how sales develop.

The Osprey Medical Inc (ASX: OSP) share price is up 5.5% to 19 cents. Investors appear to have responded positively to the medical device company's annual general meeting presentation that was released this morning. Management took the opportunity to remind the market of the sizeable opportunity that its products have. According to the release, there is a US$1.8 billion total addressable market for its DyeVert and DyeTect products. These products are designed to make heart imaging procedures safer for patients with poor kidney function.

The Supply Network Limited (ASX: SNL) share price has jumped almost 10% to $3.51 after the after-market parts supplier to the commercial vehicle industry provided an earnings guidance update. According to the release, Supply Network expects sales revenue for FY 2018 to be approximately $111 million and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to be around $11.5 million. Previous guidance was sales of $110 million and EBIT of $10.8 million. I like Supply Network and think it is well worth a closer look.

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Osprey, with US-based operations, is focused on protecting patients from the harmful effects of contrast dye used during angiographic imaging, especially those with poor kidney function.

The full year net loss of $14.3 million has increased 22% from the prior corresponding period when a net loss of US$11.7 million was logged.

But Osprey has long caught the eye of growth investors, reporting full year sales revenue of US$1.6 million, up 178% from FY16 revenue of US$0.6 million, with proceeds of A$32.5 million from an oversubscribed capital raising completed in August 2017 and a 181% year-on-year growth in unit sales.

Operationally, Osprey announced its thirteenth consecutive quarter of sales growth for the final quarter of 2017, with strong lead indicators for future growth and 98 hospitals purchasing their DyeVert or DyeVert Plus products, with 62 hospitals in the evaluation-to-purchase phase.

Osprey Medical has seen significant share price volatility in the last 12 months, sliding from a January 19 high of 41c per share to 29c per share at month's end.

It is difficult to establish whether the loss-making Osprey has efficiently used shareholders' funds over the last year, but its higher-than-market average revenue increase is one of several figures heading in the right direction.

The company's debt-free balance sheet is also a bonus, with analysts expecting high earnings growth over the next few years for a small cap which appears to be positioned for growth.

Osprey is accelerating its product commercialisation, with a focus on podium presentations at leading industry events across the U.S. to strengthen its commercialisation strategy and it plans to have 35 sales force personnel to open new hospital accounts by the end of the 2018 calendar year.

Osprey's trading was impacted by U.S. hurricanes Harvey and Irma during the reporting period, but Osprey CEO Mike McCormick said the company returned to normal quickly afterwards with continued strong growth in unaffected territories.

In 2018 Osprey plan to initiate commercial pilot activities in several countries across Europe, with a European roll out planned for the 2019 calendar year.

A focus on physician awareness of dye reduction and monitoring will also underpin its market development strategy, with Osprey announcing proven customer adoption metrics in their December investor presentation and a 144% increase in new hospitals purchasing its products year on year.

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Osprey Medical Inc (ASX: OSP) saw its share price crash 55% to 30 cents, after reporting disappointing results for its AVERT study. While the company was overly positive about the trial results, it was clear the market took a different view and sold out.

Evolution FPO's (ASX: EVN) share price plummeted 5.8% to $1.47. The gold miner has seen a strong gain in its share price, after becoming Australia's second-largest ASX-listed gold miner. The share price has rocketed up 124% so far this year, thanks to low all-in sustaining costs and sensible, cheap gold mine acquisitions. Colleague Ryan Newman wrote earlier today why gold stocks were getting smashed.

Cabcharge Australia Limited (ASX: CAB) saw its share price fall 5.4% to $2.98 as the beleaguered tax payments business continues to feel the pressure from the arrival in Australia of the likes of ride-sharing startups such as Uber. Further deregulation of the taxi market appears highly likely, which could threaten Cabcharge's virtual monopoly taxi payments business.

Fortescue Metals Group Limited's (ASX: FMG) share price fell 4.2% to $2.30 as the bumpy ride continues for shareholders. The iron ore miner's shares have dropped as low as $1.58 and soared as high as $3.70 in the past 52-weeks, mostly on the back of moves in the iron ore price. On Friday, the commodity price fell 2.5% to US$53.74 a tonne.

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