Barclays Drops Its Bearish Call on Medtronic as MiniMed Spinoff Clock Winds Down
Published on 10/08/2026 at 17:40 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Barclays has abandoned its negative stance on Medtronic, upgrading the medical device maker from "Sell" to "Hold" on Thursday. The shift in sentiment follows a quarter that came in ahead of expectations on both the top and bottom lines, though the stock gave up 0.7% in European trading to change hands at EUR 76.02.
A Quarter That Beat on Both Ends
For the period ending September 1, 2026, Medtronic reported revenue of USD 9.76 billion — a 13.7% jump year over year and comfortably above the USD 9.55 billion consensus. Adjusted earnings per share landed at USD 1.45, topping the USD 1.39 analysts had penciled in.
Management's forward guidance keeps the full-year fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS range unchanged at USD 5.94 to USD 6.00. For the second quarter of that fiscal year, the company projects adjusted EPS of USD 1.32 to USD 1.34.
Skeptics Are Thinning Out
Barclays' move chips away at the bearish camp, which was already a minority. The broader analyst consensus currently shows 18 buy ratings against 10 holds, with an average 12-month price target of USD 102.92 — implying the Street still sees room for recovery. Medtronic's market capitalization stands at roughly EUR 99.52 billion.
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Clinical Momentum Across the Portfolio
The improved operating picture is being reinforced by a steady stream of pipeline news. On the urology side, Medtronic presented fresh 24-month data from the exploratory TITAN-2 study on Tuesday, covering the Altaviva system for urge incontinence. Separately, Ariana L. Smith was named national principal investigator for the clinical ENDURANCE study, which will take a deeper look at the therapeutic use of the implant.
Regulatory and reimbursement wins have followed. The American Medical Association granted new Category I CPT billing codes for Altaviva as well as for the Symplicity Spyral renal denervation system, as announced October 1. Those codes replace the earlier Category III designations and take effect in January 2028.
In cardiac ablation, Medtronic disclosed on September 30 that the FDA cleared its Affera Prism-2 mapping software and that the product received CE marking. The PulseSelect ProxBox adapter, paired with spacing-indicator software, picked up European CE certification at the same time.
MiniMed Exchange Offer Nears Its Deadline
Running alongside these developments is the separation of the MiniMed Group. Medtronic has set the final exchange ratio at 4.5939 MiniMed shares for every accepted Medtronic common share, with the offer covering up to 225,361,295 MiniMed shares. Should the offer be oversubscribed, an additional 27,452,053 shares could be added.
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On that basis, roughly 49.06 million Medtronic shares would initially be retired, rising to about 55.03 million if the exchange is fully subscribed. The offer, along with all withdrawal rights, expires at midnight New York time on October 9, 2026, unless it is extended or terminated early.
The transaction marks a deliberate narrowing of Medtronic's portfolio, shedding peripheral operations to sharpen its focus on the remaining core medtech segments. Shares were little changed in Thursday's session, easing 0.2% to EUR 76.42 at the latest reading.
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