From bleak year to bullish one

Bulls:   1. Clean Harbors   2. Hologic   3. NMT Medical   4. DeWolfe   5. Indevus Pharmaceuticals Bears:   1. Sonus Networks   2. Art Technology Group   3. Praecis Pharmaceutical   4. American Tower   5. Dusa Pharmaceutical    The Bulls    The Bears    All the charts

he Boston company had been struggling financially for more than three years. It was on the verge of running out of cash, and its stock was trading at less than a dollar at the outset of 2001.

A new chief executive and chief financial officer had been brought in to salvage the medical device company. They sold off a product line, raising $27 million. They focused the business around NMT's newest and potentially most profitable technology.

And in the process they turned what began as a bleak year on the financial markets into a bullish one. The company's stock climbed steadily throughout the one-year period, closing at $8 a share as of March 31.

"This is a company that most people had written off," said John E. Ahern, chief executive and president. "It was going to go out of business.

"But we've turned it around and set it up to be a very high-growth medical technology company in the future."

Ahern and chief financial officer Richard E. Davis said they are investing heavily in CardioSEAL, a new minimally invasive surgical device used to seal an opening in the wall of the heart in patients who have suffered from multiple strokes -- a market opportunity they believe could one day reach $2 billion.

In patients with the heart defect, they said, blood clots can form and move through the opening, leading to additional strokes. By sealing the opening, NMT hopes to reduce that risk. The technology has limited regulatory approval, and the company plans to apply for broader approval this year.

"We had a good 2001," Ahern said, "and we expect an even better 2002."

NAOMI AOKI