Truist downgrades Inspire Medical as coding uncertainty takes upside off table

As previously reported, Truist downgraded Inspire Medical (INSP) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $96, down from $120, given the CMS and MAC “coding flip-flopping.” The firm’s prior late-November upgrade had been based on a price increase tailwind expectation that is “now fully off the table,” the analyst says. MACs in mid-December began removing code 64568 and CMS subsequently deemed it unusable this AM, notes the analyst, who believes Inspire likely goes back to using the I-IV code, 64582, with whatever modifications MACs might consider appropriate.