IRhythm Doesn't Skip A Beat...

(RTTNews) - Shares of iRhythm Technologies Inc. (IRTC) touched a new intraday high of $90.40 on Thursday, thanks to investor optimism, boosted by another strong quarter of revenue.

iRhythm is a commercial-stage digital health care company focused on the advancement of cardiac care. The Company's FDA-cleared Zio System allows physicians to identify cardiac arrhythmias.

The Zio System is comprised of the Zio Patch, an adhesive water-resistant wire-free patch that can be stuck on the person's left upper chest to record the heart rhythm for 14 days, and the Zio Report, a summary of the recorded data that have been analysed.

The Zio system is marketed to a variety of physician specialties including general cardiologists, electrophysiologists, neurologists, and other physician specialists who diagnose and manage care for patients with arrhythmias.

Before we delve more deeply into the Zio system, here's what arrhythmias mean in a nutshell...

Arrhythmia refers to irregular heartbeat, and may be caused by many different factors, including prior heart attack or heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes or sleep apnea. Atrial Fibrillation (AF) is the most common type of sustained cardiac arrhythmia, and is the leading risk factor for stroke.

It is estimated that there are about 11 million patients with arrhythmias and up to 6 million patients with AF in the U.S.

The National Stroke Association estimates that one-third of AF patients are asymptomatic and still undiagnosed. More than 750,000 hospitalizations occur each year because of AF, and the condition contributes to an estimated 130,000 deaths each year.

Early detection of arrhythmias and Atrial Fibrillation is very essential to obtain timely treatment and help avoid more serious medical conditions, such as stroke, and additional medical costs.

In a study conducted by the Scripps Translational Science Institute, which compared the Zio System against Holter monitor, the Zio system outperformed the Holter monitor by detecting 57% more arrhythmia events. The results were published in 2014 January issue of the American Journal of Medicine.

The conventional Holter monitor is a portable machine with multiple wires that connect to electrodes on the chest and must be worn for 24 to 48 hours. The Zio monitor can be comfortably worn for up to 14 days.

The Zio system was commercially launched in the U.S. in 2011, and received the CE Mark in Europe in 2014. The Holter monitor has been in use since the 1940s.

The flexible time frame of monitoring, patient friendly design and assured clinical accuracy give Zio an edge over the Holter monitor, and iRhythm's increasing revenue is a testimony to the growing preference of its Zio system among patients.

In the second quarter ended June 30, 2018, net loss widened to $12.2 million or $0.51 per share from $6.4 million or $0.29 per share during the same period in 2017. Revenue for the recent second quarter increased 49% to $35.5 million from $23.9 million during the comparable year-ago quarter.

Looking ahead to full year 2018, iRhythm now expects revenue to range from $138 million to $141 million, and gross margin to range from 73% to 74%. Earlier, the Company had forecast revenue range of $128.5 to $133.5 million, and gross margin of 71.5% to 72.5%.

The Company ended June 30, 2018 with cash and cash equivalents of $19.24 million.

iRhythm made its debut on NASDAQ on October 20, 2016, offering its shares at a price of $17 each. In the last 1 year, the stock has traded in a range of $41.15 to $90.40. IRTC closed Thursday's trading at $85.04, up 11.50%.