Stock Strategist: Medical Device Firms on Sale.

Byline: Julie Stralow, CFA

Jul. 24--With solid long-term growth prospects and return-generating capabilities, medical device firms sport some of the most attractive profiles in the health-care industry. In the past, the market rewarded these topnotch firms with similarly topnotch valuation multiples, and our favorite picks right now (see bottom) averaged more than 30 times earnings over the past five years. However, recent worries about Medicare cuts, an antitrust investigation, and product recalls have tainted the market's view of these firms, pushing the group's aver