My wife and I have become obsessed with a reality TV show that is part entertainment and part fright show.
Let me explain.
I haven’t watched a reality show in maybe a decade and had no intention of ever doing so again.
But when Tracy recently suggested we try an episode of Botched, I decided to give it a try. I have to say that I was quickly hooked.
In each episode, patients seek help from two renowned doctors to correct cosmetic surgeries that went awry – hence the name Botched.
As a veteran tech investor, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was a better process for many of those patients to avoid ending up on the show in the first place.
Since the cosmetic surgery market is on its way to being worth some $43.9 billion, you can bet I was determined to find out.
So, I’m glad to reveal a medical tech leader in the field that could triple in value from here…
Now then, I was amazed to see how bad some cosmetic surgeries go. Some women came in with breast implants that were just a disaster.
Others had nose jobs that needed an overhaul.
Not to worry.
The doctors on the show, Terry Dubrow and Paul Nassif, are experts in fixing what they call “extreme plastic surgeries gone wrong.”
I have to say that these guys are great; their results are off the charts. If I ever needed help of that sort, I would jump on a plane to Southern California in a heartbeat.
However, I believe that hundreds of thousands of people could avoid these problems simply by going with a high-tech solution that offers minimally invasive procedures.
That’s where InMode Ltd. (INMD) comes in. Founded in 2008, InMode introduced a completely new technology into the world of plastic surgery.
When you hear the words “plastic surgery,” chances are you think of being put under by an anesthesiologist and a doctor using a scalpel to remove tissue.
It’s an ordeal, costs $20,000 or more that insurance won’t cover, leaves you bruised and scarred, and can take weeks or months to recover from.
And that’s assuming it goes well and you don’t end up having to have the procedure fixed on a show like Botched.
The Holy Grail of Plastic Surgery
InMode gets rid of all these issues. The company uses radio waves sent between a small electrode inserted under the skin using just topical anesthesia and another electrode held by the physician.
The radio waves destroy fat cells only in the targeted area, making for a very precise and painless procedure. It’s considered the “Holy Grail” of cosmetic procedures – no scarring.
On top of that, recovery takes just a day. You’re even awake through the whole procedure.
Even better, InMode’s Radio-Frequency Assisted Lipolysis (RFAL), as the technology is called, also tightens the skin at the same time as it removes fat.
Traditional fat-removing procedures that use scalpels, lasers, or “fat freezing” require surgeons to cut away loose skin. That leaves scars, takes a long time to heal, and it doesn’t look natural.
And at $7,000-$8,000, InMode’s FaceTite or BodyTite procedures are much more affordable than the $20,000 to $30,000 that traditional plastic surgery costs.
InMode is based in Israel but operates in North America, where 86% of its sales come from. It has also moved into India and Australia, with additional plans to open operations in China.
With InMode, Everybody Wins
Physicians love InMode’s products.
They don’t need to prep a full surgical room and a whole day of surgery and recovery for each patient.
Instead, they have to pay an upfront cost of about $130,000 for the BodyTite body sculpting system. After that, each quick procedure only requires about $200 to $400 worth of single-use equipment.
With revenue of about $6,000 per procedure, a physician could pay the whole system off in under a year just by doing one procedure a week.
This makes InMode the first cosmetic procedure company to really combine the best of laser and surgery treatments.
InMode’s procedures can be done in an office, are non-invasive, don’t leave scarring, and have short recovery times – much like the 40 million laser treatments done globally each year.
But they work much better. In fact, they work even better than many of the 2.5 million plastic surgeries done globally every year that can have serious side effects.
Another InMode technology is called Deep Subdermal Fractional RF. This device uses tiny needle-like electrodes to pierce the top layer of skin and deliver radio waves underneath, reducing wrinkles and removing acne scars.
But unlike laser treatments that promise the same results, it’s faster and requires fewer treatments.
Completely Hands-Off Plastic “Surgery”
InMode’s other two product lines are Evolve and Evoke. Both provide a completely hands-free, non-invasive treatment. Evolve uses a series of small boxes attached to flexible bands that the physician places at exact spots on the patient.
Hooked up to a computer programmed by the physician, these boxes use radio wave emitters and other technologies to heat specific parts of the body underneath the skin, removing fat and tightening the skin.
All this happens while the patient lies down but is fully awake. Their body is never pierced or cut. And after set up, the system is fully automatic, allowing a doctor to run several procedures at once.
Evoke is a similar technology, but it is installed in a kind of helmet that lets the operator sculpt the cheeks and chin of a patient.
Over the past three years, InMode has grown its per-share profits by a stunning 258%.
Clearly, the company’s executives know what they’re doing – and both physicians and patients are loving it.
Still, that’s a difficult track record to follow. To be conservative, let’s cut earnings growth by two-thirds.
That still means we could see InMode’s stock price triple in as little as three years.
In short, this stock is an earnings powerhouse that you should look to buy on the dips and own for the long haul.
Cheers and good investing,
— Michael A. Robinson
Source: Strategic Tech Investor