Medical device business Asensus Surgical (NYSE:ASXC) is a company that’s in a time of transition. As InvestorPlace contributor Dana Blankenhorn pointed out, on March 5 the New York Stock Exchange discontinued TRXC stock as the ticker symbol for Asensus Surgical and changed it to ASXC.
At around that same time, the company announced the formal completion of its name change from TransEnterix to Asensus Surgical.
Evidently, the company changed its name in order to reflect a stronger focus on digital surgery. So, should the current and prospective investors be concerned about this?
In actuality, these changes aren’t a bad thing at all. The best strategy is to gather the available data and if you still like the company, stay in the trade until there’s a compelling reason to sell your shares.
A Closer Look at ASXC Stock
The price action of ASXC stock over the past year has been interesting, to say the least.
It’s amazing to consider that the share price was just 33 cents a year ago. Going forward, there’s a definitely possibility that we’ll never see that price again.
By the end of 2020, the bulls had managed to push the stock price up to 63 cents. That was already a sizable gain, percentage-wise.
Yet, there was much more to come. An incredible bull run in January and February of 2021 culminated in a 52-week high of $6.95 on Feb. 10.
After that was a cooling-off period in which the stock retraced somewhat, landing at $4.15 on March 19. Nonetheless, the long-term trend is clearly to the upside and another run towards $7 could easily happen in the near future.
An Evolving Company
Change can be viewed as scary or positive, depending on how you choose to look at it.
Asensus Surgical President and CEO Anthony Fernando is clearly choosing to view his company’s transition as from a robotics company to a digital surgery company as a positive event.
The re-branding “better reflects our vision and we know that Asensus has the technology, the team, and the opportunity to create a new paradigm in best surgical practices and techniques we call performance-guided surgery,” Fernando explained.
What the name change to Asensus Surgical seems to imply is that the company’s leadership wants to focus on the Senhance Surgical System. This is a digital/robotic laparoscopy platform with some potentially game-changing features:
- Eye-tracking camera control
- 3D high-definition visualization
- Open-platform architecture
- Ergonomically comfortable seating position
- Digital fulcrum to potentially minimize the incision trauma
- Haptic feedback with alerts if pressure thresholds are reached
Frankly, I can’t blame the company for choosing to focus on the Senhance Surgical System now. It’s a platform that offers greater control in laparoscopy for surgeons, along with the potential for powerful revenues and enhanced shareholder value.
Major Milestones
Speaking of the Senhance Surgical System, Asensus Surgical recently received some terrific news about this platform.
On March 3, the company announced it had received an additional U.S. FDA clearance for the Senhance Surgical System. This clearance allows for the platform’s indication expansion in general surgery in the United States.
As you can see, it’s been an outstanding year so far for Asensus Surgical. On Jan. 19, the company announced that it had received CE Mark approval for the intelligent surgical unit (ISU) that enables machine vision capabilities on the Senhance Surgical System.
“This approval will provide Senhance digital laparoscopic programs in Europe access to this new technology, ushering them to the forefront of surgical innovation utilizing augmented intelligence,” the accompanying press release stated.
The Bottom Line
All in all, ASXC stock investors should view the company’s strong focus on the Senhance Surgical System as a positive development.
Sure, changes can be worrisome. But any fears should be quelled as Asensus Surgical continues to develop life-changing, and potentially profitable, medical technology.
On the date of publication, David Moadel did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
David Moadel has provided compelling content – and crossed the occasional line – on behalf of Crush the Street, Market Realist, TalkMarkets, Finom Group, Benzinga, and (of course) InvestorPlace.com. He also serves as the chief analyst and market researcher for Portfolio Wealth Global and hosts the popular financial YouTube channel Looking at the Markets.
