Market Update (NYSE:SYK): U.S. top court mulls boosted patent damages in Stryker, Halo cases

[Reuters] – The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday signaled a willingness to give federal judges more discretion to boost penalties for patent infringement as the justices heard arguments in cases brought by Stryker Corp and Halo Electronics Inc. Stryker, a medical device maker, and Halo, which makes circuit board transformers, were denied enhanced damages by a federal appeals court after winning patent infringement lawsuits against competitors. During oral arguments before the high court, the companies said they should have been awarded enhanced damages because the infringement of their patents was willful, which can allow for a tripling of damages. Read more on this. Stryker Corporation (SYK) , valued at $36.88B, opened this morning at $98.51. Looking at the stock , its one day range is $98.34 to $99.61 with its 52-week range being $86.68 to $105.34. Stryker (SYK) shares are currently priced at 17.54x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively expensive compared to the industry’s 4.02x earnings multiple for the same period. And for income investors, the company pays shareholders $1.52 per share annually in dividends, yielding 1.56%. In a review of the consensus earnings estimate this quarter, 26 sell-side analysts are looking at $1.20 per share, which would be $0.09 better than the year-ago quarter and a $0.04 sequential decrease. Investors should also note that the full-year EPS estimate of $5.57 is a $0.45 better when compared to the previous year’s annual results. The quarterly earnings estimate is based on a consensus revenue forecast of the current quarter of $2.47 Billion. If realized, that would be a 3.78% increase over the year-ago quarter. In terms of ratings, Goldman downgraded SYK from Buy to Neutral (Nov 13, 2015). Previously, Citigroup Initiated SYK at to Sell. When considering if the stock is under or overvalued, the average price target is $107.90, which is 9.53% above where the stock opened this morning. See more in (NYSE:SYK) Similar Articles: Stock Update: Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) – Stryker Announces Definitive Agreement to Acquire Physio-Control International, Inc. for $1.28 Billion Stock Update: Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) – Stryker Provides 2015 Preliminary Sales Results and Increases Adjusted Earnings Guidance Company Update: Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) – Stryker to Participate in 34th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference