The company announced a 2 percent increase in its worldwide sales, totaling $3.2 billion. Sales in the United States also increased 2 percent to $1.4 billion, and international sales increased 2 percent to $1.8 billion.

Leerink Swann called Baxter's third-quarter predictions of $0.96 to $0.99 per diluted share "reasonable." Baxter expects sales growth of 1 to 3 percent for the third quarter.


Intuitive Surgical

Rough seas for med tech didn't sink surgical robot makers Intuitive Surgical Inc., whose profits sped ahead.

In second quarter 2010, Intuitive, makers of widely used robotic surgery systems, reported $89 million in profits, almost 43 percent higher than the $62 million it earned last year. Its earnings per share of $2.19 beat industry expectations by about 15 cents.

But the company's stock, which analysts say is often herky-jerky around earnings reports, dipped six percent Thursday morning before inching back up 0.31 percent to reach $317.08 per share in recent trading.

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company placed 108 of its da Vinci surgical robots, two ahead of Wall Street expectations, according to industry analysts. Eighty-nine were new models, and the rest trade-ins. The company saw $351 million in sales, up 34 percent over the $261 million it pulled in this quarter last year.

The company credited some of its revenue increase with a nearly 36 percent bump in surgical procedures using their robots, especially in hysterectomies.

"ISRG continues to drive impressive operating results in the context of an overall challenging health care environment," health care investment bank Leerink Swann said in a Thursday morning e-mail to investors.

For the rest of the year, Intuitive projects about 30 percent revenue growth, according to Leerink, although with an expanding sales force, the company also projects slightly higher operating expenses. For 2010, Leerink predicts $1.4 billion in sales, up nearly 33 percent, and profits of about $8.45 per share.

Abbott

Strong sales of stents and an arthritis drug helped carry Abbott Laboratories in what Leerink calls "very solid 2Q:10 results," despite hits from legal and research costs and the purchase of an Indian generic drug company.

The Abbott Park, Ill.-based med sector giant reported earnings of $1.29 billion, or around 83 cents per share for the quarter, about 0.3 percent up over the $1.28 billion the company earned last year at this time. Excluding $3.7 billion acquisition costs for Piramal Healthcare Ltd., an Indian generics pharma business Abbott bought in May, and other charges, the earnings were around $1.01 per share, exceeding Abbott's previous guidance by one to three cents.

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