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Bernstein believes that Stryker's (SYK) $2B share buyback program, announced yesterday, indicates that the company is less likely to carry out large scale M&A. The firm now sees a 20% chance that Stryker will make a successful bid for Smith & Nephew in the next year, down from 35% previously. Bernstein trimmed its price target on Smith & Nephew to $40.70 from $41 but remains upbeat on the company's fundamental outlook and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares.

BTIG notes that seven Medicare Administrative Contractors, or MACs - CGS, WPS, NGS, Palmetto, Novitas, First Coast, and Noridian - this morning published new proposed local coverage determinations, or LCDs, regarding the coverage of skin substitutes grafts and cellular and tissue based products for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers, or DFUs, and venous leg ulcers, or VLUs. This marks "the second attempt in the past 12 months where MACs have proposed an LCD that would drastically shake up the advanced wound care market," says the analyst, who highlights that the proposed LCD includes non-coverage products from Integra Lifesciences (IART), Organogenesis (ORGO), Smith & Nephew (SNN), MiMedx (MDXG), Anika Therapeutics (ANIK) and numerous smaller, private wound care companies. The firm adds that it thinks Integra and Organogenesis both have meaningful exposure to the LCDs based on their product portfolio and the revenue mix within their Advanced Wound Care businesses.