Zimmer Biomet (ZBH) (“Zimmer”) has certainly had some issues since the acquisition of Biomet. Between integration challenges, manufacturing problems (including FDA warning letters), and slow underlying market growth, and other challenges to boot, the shares have dramatically lagged rival Stryker (SYK) and the medical device sector as a whole. The story over the past year is quite a bit different, though, as the shares have climbed more than 40%, beating even mighty Stryker, as CEO Bryan Hanson’s turnaround efforts have started to bear fruit.
From where I sit, the real question