These 2 Stocks Just Made Surprising Moves

Tuesday was a good day on Wall Street, with major market benchmarks climbing higher. The S&P 500 (^GSPC -1.11%) pushed over the 4,000 mark for the first time in a couple months, and the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC -1.49%) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI -0.77%) saw similar gains on a percentage basis.

Data source: Yahoo! Finance.

Within the market, various stocks faced different challenges and opportunities. Analog Devices (ADI -0.49%) managed to rise significantly following its most recent financial report, but Medtronic (MDT -0.20%) shares gave up ground on some worrisome trends in the medical device maker's profits. Read on to learn more about both companies.

Analog Devices keeps gaining ground

Shares of Analog Devices moved higher by nearly 6% on Tuesday. The maker of semiconductor chips reported fiscal fourth-quarter financial results for the period ending Oct. 29 that reassured investors about the state of the industry, and it also offered favorable guidance for the coming fiscal year that was welcome.

In a market environment that has put pressure on many stocks, Analog Devices stood out for its solid growth. Revenue of $3.25 billion was up 39% year over year, completing a fiscal year in which sales soared 64%. Margin figures soared, helping to lift adjusted earnings by 58% to $2.73 per share.

More broadly, Analog Devices saw strength across its product lines. The company's industrial, automotive, and communications segments all reached new records in terms of annual sales, and all of its markets recorded sequential growth in the fiscal fourth quarter. Despite spending nearly $700 million on capital expenditures for the year, fiscal 2022 free cash flow came in at $3.8 billion, showing just what a cash cow the business continues to be.

Investors were also pleased with Analog Devices' fiscal first-quarter guidance, which called for revenue of $3.05 billion to $3.25 billion and adjusted earnings of $2.50 to $2.70 per share. For those who feared that the semiconductor industry was ready to hit a cyclical downturn, this company's outlook certainly doesn't suggest a decline anytime in the near future.

Medtronic waits for a full recovery

Medtronic shares, however, went the other way, falling more than 5% on Tuesday. The medical device maker's fiscal second-quarter financial  results for the period ending Oct. 28 showed some of the impacts of the economic downturn on the healthcare sector.

Medtronic's numbers showed relatively flat performance. Revenue of $7.6 billion was down 3% from year-ago levels, but it would have been up 2% on an organic basis were it not for a massive negative impact from foreign currency translation. The company said that volumes of medical procedures failed to recover as much as anticipated, and medical providers failed to replenish their inventories of key supplies as quickly as hoped. Adjusted earnings of $1.30 per share were down 2% year over year.

However, Medtronic is aggressively moving forward to boost its corporate performance. Efforts to streamline its organizational structure, strengthen supply chains, and directly available capital to top growth opportunities are already paying off, and Medtronic foresees revenue growth accelerating on an organic basis in the remainder of the fiscal year.

Nevertheless, investors weren't entirely comfortable with stiffer currency-related headwinds, which caused the company to expect second-half revenue growth of just 3.5% to 4% and full-year fiscal 2023 adjusted earnings of $5.25 to $5.30 per share. Until Medtronic proves it can reap the rewards of its initiatives, shareholders seem more comfortable remaining in wait-and-see mode.