In first earnings since IPO, ReWalk bolsters investor confidence (Video)

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Courtesy photo/ ReWalk

Using the robotic legs, backpack and with the assistance of crutches, paraplegics can walk again using ReWalk.

Don Seiffert

BioFlash Editor- Boston Business Journal

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In its first quarterly report since its September IPO, ReWalk Robotics reported $1.5 million in revenues from the sale of 26 devices designed to help parapalegics walk during the three months that ended in September, boosting its shares 10 percent today in morning trading.

ReWalk (Nasdaq: RWLK), which is headquartered in Israel but has 13 of its 64 employees in its Marlborough-based U.S. headquarters, was one of the most successful companies to go public during the third quarter. On Sept. 12, it raised $36 million in an initial public offering which priced its shares slightly below the originally-anticipated range, but then saw those shares double in the first day of trading. Its stock has maintained that high price for the last two months.

When it reported its third-quarter results Thursday morning, revenues came in slightly below the $1.58 million a consensus of analysts were expecting, and its net loss was more than five times what analysts expected. Analyst estimates for newly-public companies are often skewed, however, and investors didn't seem to care much about either the revenue nor earnings miss.

The 26 new ReWalk devices (which have a list price of $26,000 each) that were sold in the quarter represents a 33 percent increase over the 81 sold to date as of June. Sales were helped by the FDA's clearance in late June of the device for home use. Previously, it had been available for the past couple years for use in rehab facilities only,

Sales were also helped by insurance coverage by the VA Bronx Hospital, and CEO Larry Jasinski has said he expects the nationwide VA system will cover the cost soon. Four German insurance companies have said they will cover it on a case-by-case basis as well, and Jasinski is waiting to hear from private payers in the U.S.

As of Sept. 30, the company had $48 million in cash.