Tampa Bay’s hottest stock in 2018

A Clearwater medical device manufacturer that reinvented itself outperformed all other publicly traded companies based in the Tampa Bay area in 2018.

The stock price of Bovie Medical Corp. (NYSE: BVX)— which is changing its name to Apyx Medical Corp. — went up 151.2 percent in the past 12 months, rising from $2.58 a share at the open on Jan. 2, 2018 to $6.48 a share at the close Dec. 31.

Bovie was the only company among 19 local public firms with a market capitalization of more than $100 million to post a triple-digit price gain.

Just six companies had a higher stock price at the end of the year than at the start, and as a group, the 19 Tampa Bay public firms lost a combined total of $710 million in value based on market cap.

Bovie sold its legacy electrosurgical business and the Bovie brand earlier this year to focus on commercializing its J-Plasma/Renuvion technology in the cosmetic surgery market.

The name change to Apyx officially took effect on Jan. 1, along with a move to the NASDAQ Global Select Market and a ticker change to APYX. President and CEO Charlie Goodwin and other company executives will ring the NASDAQ opening bell Jan. 3.