Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co and More Big Movers in Healthcare on November 27, 2012

The market is currently down, with the Nasdaq declining 0.2%, the S&P 500 slipping 0.2% and the Dow down 0.3%. The healthcare sector is the category of stocks relating to medical and healthcare goods or services. This sector includes hospital management firms, health maintenance organizations (HMOs), biotechnology and a variety of medical products. Stocks in the healthcare sector are often considered to be defensive because the products and services are essential. Even during economic downturns, people will still require medical aid and medicine to overcome illness. Having a consistent demand for goods and services makes this sector less sensitive to business cycle fluctuations.

The Healthcare sector (XLV) is currently lagging behind the overall market, down 0.2%, and its current biggest movers are:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
Merit Medical Systems (Nasdaq:MMSI)	$561.4 million	+5.2%
Sarepta Therapeutics (Nasdaq:SRPT)	$789.3 million	-4.4%
ABIOMED (Nasdaq:ABMD)	$567.7 million	+3.8%
Viropharma (Nasdaq:VPHM)	$1.57 billion	+3%
HeartWare International (Nasdaq:HTWR)	$1.18 billion	-3%
Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co (NYSE:FMS)	$20.07 billion	+2.6%
Salix (Nasdaq:SLXP)	$2.43 billion	-2.6%

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Merit Medical Systems (Nasdaq:MMSI) has risen 5.2% and is currently trading at $13.92 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 248,471 shares.

At $29.65, Sarepta Therapeutics (Nasdaq:SRPT) has slipped 4.4%. So far today, 1.4 million shares have changed hands,.

After an increase of 3.8%, ABIOMED (Nasdaq:ABMD) has reached a current price of $14.86. This morning, the company is trading a volume of 216,415 shares. This is in keeping with the average volume over the past three months.

Viropharma (Nasdaq:VPHM) is at $24.46 per share after an increase of 3%. At 207,884 shares, the company's volume so far today is in line with the current daily average.

Falling 3%, HeartWare International (Nasdaq:HTWR) is currently at a share price of $79.29. This morning, the company is trading a volume of 80,639 shares.

Increasing 2.6%, Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co (NYSE:FMS) is trading at $68.12 per share. This morning, 71,325 shares have been traded, more than yesterday's 68,385 shares.

Slipping 2.6%, Salix (Nasdaq:SLXP) is currently trading at $40.29 per share. The company is currently trading a volume of 266,105 shares. This is consistent with the average over the past three months.

The Bottom Line On any given day, a particular stock may see positive or negative change in its share price. It is important to weigh current activity against historical performance when making any investment decisions. However, these fundamental metrics must be analyzed with historic data, industry information in addition to firm specific financial statements.