Medtronic European sales weaken

Medtronic reported higher quarterly earnings yesterday but sales of key heart and spine devices fell and overall European sales weakened in January, sending the company’s shares down nearly 3%.

Chief financial officer Gary Ellis attributed the decline in Medtronic’s stock to management’s comments about Europe.

“The stock had been running up recently,” he told Reuters. “But in January, we saw a significant kind of change in Europe. (Today) was the first time we communicated that to the investment community.”