St. Jude Medical earnings, revenue exceed expectations

Shares of St. Jude Medical rose 5 percent to close at $50 Wednesday, as the company reported earnings and revenue that were higher than expected.

St. Jude posted second-quarter net income of $115 million on sales of $1.4 billion. Revenue was down slightly from the same quarter a year ago. That was down by more than half, primarily because some company debt was paid off early.

But the company also is showing signs there is a recovery in the market for devices to treat abnormal heart rhythms. The company expects sales will pick up later this year as it rolls out a series of new heart devices.

"The key cardiac rhythm management business did better than expected. That's really driven by probably stable volumes and pricing not getting worse than what it had been," said Aaron Vaughn, an analyst with the Mid-Continent Capital investment firm.