Amedisys shares jump on 1Q profit, full-year guidance boost

The stock gained $4.71, or 10 percent, to close at $51.80, after hitting an annual high of 52.90 earlier in the session. Shares have traded between $32.47 and $49.99 over the past 52 weeks.

On Wednesday, the company said profit rose as revenue increased 39 percent along with the number of home health and hospice agencies. Amedisys now operates 442 home health agencies, up from 273 a year prior. The number of hospice agencies increased to 38 from 17.

Amedisys now expects full-year profit between $2.70 to $2.80 per share on revenue between $1.05 billion to $1.1 billion. It previously forecast profit of $2.50 to $2.60 per share on revenue between $1.03 and $1.08 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expect 2008 earnings of $2.53 per share on revenue of $1.06 billion.

"This looks to be another very strong quarter for Amedisys, which comes despite the challenges of adjusting to the new reimbursement system and integrating a flurry of recent acquisitions," Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Michael Wiederhorn said in a note to investors.

The company faced cuts in the Medicare reimbursement system but was prepared for the changes and able to offset the potential decline, he added.