Coopervision Stock – Time to take another look?

Many people who follows stocks in the contact lens and optical sector have tended to avoid Coopervision (COO) over the past couple of years, and with good reason.  With falling sales in their specialty lens segment due to the increasing dominance of Vistakon’s Acuvue Advance for Astigmatism, lengthy delays and higher than anticipated costs in the integration of their Ocular Sciences acquisition, and delays in the launch of their silicone hydrogel monthly, Biofinity, Cooper’s stock has taken a beating.  Now, however, prospects are much brighter – Biofinity is widely available in an extended range of parameters, and is starting to take some market share.  In addition, Cooper’s Proclear line including the Proclear Multifocal, Proclear Toric, and the Proclear 1-day, are seeing significant sales growth.  Finally, the new 2-week contact Avaira, is getting good reviews from eye-doctors and patients alike and seems likely to pick-up market share for Cooper in that segment.

The stock now looks fairly priced at around $35, and has actually withstood the recent market swings quite well, and might be worth a look.