Why Tandem Diabetes Care Stock Took It on the Chin Tuesday

An analyst issued the equivalent of a warning on Tandem Diabetes Care (NASDAQ: TNDM) stock on the second trading day of the week and, absent any other news for the company, some investors traded out of it. This left Tandem's shares with a more than 3% loss in price on the day, which compared unfavorably to the sub-1% decline of the bellwether S&P 500 index.

Citi advises keeping watch on the stock

The prognosticator behind that piece of bad news was Citigroup's Joanne Wuensch, who issued one of her bank's 90-day catalyst watches on Tandem stock before the market open.

Wuensch wrote in her latest research note on the specialized medical device maker that a survey on its specialty, diabetes, indicated flat-line growth in the number of U.S. new patient starts in its just-completed third quarter. She added that management's guidance for the quarter implied new patient share growth of roughly 350 basis points, however. "In the least, this may be harder to achieve, making a meaningful beat to earnings harder to achieve," she said.

That being said, the analyst pointed out, in each of the trailing three quarters, Tandem beat the consensus prognosticator estimates for profitability.

Potential across the pond

Despite placing Tandem on that watch, Wuensch reiterated her buy recommendation and $57 per-share price target on the stock. That figure anticipates upside of nearly 39% on the company's most recent closing share price.

One development that should bear fruit sooner rather than later is the recent approval by the European Union's (EU) healthcare regulator for the company's t:slim X2 pump, to be used in the 27-country bloc to deliver Eli Lilly's Lyumjev ultra-rapid acting insulin.

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Citigroup is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.